Table 1. Mean (SE) of Joint angles and Ground reaction forces-related dependent measures.
| Domain | Dependent measure | Lower-level step | Higher-level step | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | ||
| Joint Angles | Peak ankle plantar flexion (°) | 13.70 (1.55) | 15.86 (1.25) | 14.26 (1.45) | 15.60 (1.32) | 16.10 (1.44) | 16.83(1.37) | 16.59 (1.42) | 16.26 (1.56) |
| Peak ankle dorsiflexion(°) | 11.52 (1.34) | 10.92 (1.21) | 12.37 (1.29) | 11.47 (1.23) | 14.71 (1.04) | 13.51 (1.28) | 14.53 (1.08) | 13.43 (1.11) | |
| Ankle range of motion (°) | 25.22 (1.65) | 26.78 (1.55) | 26.63(1.37) | 27.06(1.77) | 30.81 (1.52) | 30.34 (1.55) | 31.12 (1.46) | 29.69 (1.63) | |
| Peak knee flexion (°) | 53.17 (1.82) | 52.57 (1.63) | 53.33 (1.87) | 53.14 (1.59) | 57.33 (1.40). | 56.47 (1.20) | 57.05 (1.47) | 56.50 (1.19) | |
| Peak knee extension (°) | 8.87 (2.00) | 6.33 (1.55) | 8.95 (1.80) | 6.62 (1.19) | 8.32 (1.44) | 6.59 (1.16) | 8.95 (1.29) | 7.30 (0.98) | |
| Peak knee range of motion | 44.30 (1.25) | 46.24 (1.30) | 44.37 (1.22) | 46.52 (1.48) | 49.01 (1.44) | 49.89 (1.24) | 48.10 (1.29) | 49.20 (1.32) | |
| Peak hip flexion (°) | 54.04 (1.02) | 54.11 (1.09) | 54.35 (0.95 | 52.90.(1.16) | 49.13 (1.27) | 49.78(1.24) | 49.21 (1.13) | 49.63 (1.43) | |
| Peak hip extension (°) | 0.44 (1.32) | 0.43 (1.60) | 0.55 (1.21) | 1.07 (1.54) | 4.60 (1.27) | 4.09 (1.44) | 5.11 (1.11) | 4.26 (1.42) | |
| Hip range of motion (°) | 53.60 (0.92) | 54.55 (1.16) | 54.90 (0.88) | 53.97 (1.19) | 53.73 (1.26) | 53.87 (1.13) | 54.32 (1.08) | 53.88 (1.09) | |
| Ground Reaction Force | First peak vertical force (N/kg) | 1.08 (0.03) | 1.04 (0.01) | 1.09 (0.02) | 1.05 (0.01) | 1.09 (0.02) | 1.04 (0.01) | 1.09 (0.03) | 1.04 (0.01) |
| Second peak vertical force | 1.23 (0.04) | 1.13 (0.04) | 1.23 (0.04) | 1.12 (0.03) | 1.23 (0.04) | 1.15 (0.04) | 1.21 (0.03) | 1.13 (0.03) | |
| Peak vertical force Mid-stance (N/kg) | 0.71 (0.06) | 0.78 (0.04) | 0.72 (0.06) | 0.75 (0.02) | 0.70 (0.02) | 0.75 (0.02) | 0.67 (0.02) | 0.75 (0.02) | |
| Loading rate (N/kg.s) | 5.13 (0.24) | 3.44 (0.28) | 4.88 (0.32) | 3.54 (0.26) | 6.41 (0.22) | 4.81 (0.48) | 6.30 (0.37) | 4.73 (0.48) | |
| Peak propulsion force (N/kg) | 0.06 (0.01) | 0.05 (0.00) | 0.06 (0.01) | 0.05 (0.00) | 0.11 (0.01) | 0.10 (0.01) | 0.10 (0.01) | 0.10 (0.01) | |
| Peak braking force (N/kg) | 0.13 (0.00) | 0.12 (0.01) | 0.13 (0.01) | 0.13 (0.01) | 0.10 (0.01) | 0.10 (0.01) | 0.10 (0.01) | 0.09 (0.01) | |
C1 - ascending the stairs without counting and carrying a box, C2 - ascending the stairs while counting backwards and not carrying a box, C3 - ascending the stairs while carrying a box and not counting, C4 -ascending the stairs while counting backwards and carrying a box