I

Chapter 8

Arm
eciprocal arm swing spontaneously occurs during
R walking. Elftman calculated the angular momentum
of the arm swing in the three functional planes and
found the pattern was opposite to that of the rest of the body.2
He concluded that this allowed the lower legs to perform their
necessary motion without imparting marked rotation to the
body, The significance of this calculation is challenged by
the results of energy cost analysis. Testing subjects walking
with their arms free to swing and with them bound showed
no differences in oxygen usage. 7 These two findings suggest
arm swing may be useful, but it is not an essential
component of walking.

Gait Mechanics
Motion
During a stride, each arm, reciprocally, flexes3
-1-='
extends for a total arc of arm displacement of 3005 or
(Figure SI). Timing between the two arms is a 50% offset in