Effects of intermittent claudication due to arterial disease on pain-free gait

Studies of intermittent claudication gait report inconsistent outcomes. Changes in gait are often attributed to degradation of calf muscles, but causation has not been proven through real-time electromyographic data. Neither have effects of walking speed been fully considered. This study aimed to investigate the effect of intermittent claudication on kinematics, kinetics and muscle activity during pain-free gait. 18 able bodied individuals and 18 with intermittent claudication walked at their preferred speed while lower limb kinematic, kinetic and electromyography data were collected. People with intermittent claudication walk slower and with reduced step length. Internal ankle plantarflexion moment (P = 0.004, effect size = 0.96) and ankle power generation (P