REVIEW   Free access

European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine 2020 October;56(5):607-15

DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.20.06175-4

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Nordic walking influence on biomechanical parameters: a systematic review

Manon ROY ^{1, 2} ✉, Véronique GRATTARD ², Christophe DINET ², Antonio V. SOARES ³, Pierre DECAVEL ^{1, 4}, Yoshimasa J. SAGAWA ^{1, 4}

¹ Laboratory of Clinical Functional Exploration of Movement, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France; ² Institute of Physical Therapy, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France; ³ University of Joinville Region and Ielusc College, Joinville, Brazil; ⁴ Integrative and Clinical Neurosciences EA481, University of Burgundy Franche-Comte, Besançon, France

INTRODUCTION: Nordic walking (NW) as a form of physical activity has been shown to have benefits in various domains, but little is known about the effect of NW on more specific biomechanical parameters. The purpose is to determine the impact of NW on the following parameters: walking speed/distance, muscle activation, spatiotemporal parameters, kinematics and ground reaction force.
EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: A literature search was carried out in different databases from October 2008 to October 2018. This review was conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA statement. Finally, 42 studies with a median PEDro Score of 5.5/10 were included.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: The included studies reported increased walking distance (+14.8%, P<0.05), walking speed (+25.5%, P<0.05), and stride length (+10.4%, P<0.05), but decreased cadence (-6.2%, P<0.05). NW generally increased: muscle activation and strength for upper limbs; upper and lower limb range of motion, and ground reaction force.
CONCLUSIONS: NW has beneficial effects on many biomechanical parameters. It appears to be an effective way of doing physical activity and could be used in physical rehabilitation or in daily life.

KEY WORDS: Exercise; Gait; Locomotion