humans can lead efficient 
 daily lives by adjusting their walking patterns in various ways during exercise .
also , general walking does not efficiently control 
 calories , the heart rate , the oxygen consumption , and the respiratory exchange ratio during 
 the activity2 .
however , nordic walking 
 activates the upper limb muscles and lowers the efficiency of recruitment and weight - bearing 
 of the lower limbs , as the duration of the fatigue lengthens3,4,5 .
the primary purpose of using a pole is to be able to use the upper 
 limb muscles , which are not normally used in walking , and to facilitate high - intensity 
 exercise with the minimum effort by adjusting the energy consumption of the body6 . according to the research of schwameder
, 
 nordic walking increased the strengths of the upper and lower limb muscles , and the poles 
 dispersed the body weight ; furthermore , it was found to lower the vertical ground reaction 
 force of the knee and significantly change the knee extension angle7 .
therefore , the present study analyzed the effects of nordic 
 walking and walking on spatiotemporal parameters and ground reaction force , so that it would 
 be possible to suggest an efficient means of walking for people who walk for health .
the subjects 
 were divided into a nordic walking group of 15 subjects and a walking group of 15 subjects . 

all subjects signed an informed consent form approved by the sehan university institutional 
 review board .
the general characteristics of the subjects were measured using an inbody j05 
 system ( biospace , usa ) .
the nordic walking group s average age was 23.2  4.6  years , average 
 height was 167.2  4.3  cm , and average weight was 63.4  4.7  kg .
the walking group s average 
 age was 23.8  3.9  years , average height was 169.4 5.2  cm , and average weight was 65.3  
 5.78  kg .
the three - dimensional kinematic and kinetic changes in the joints while walking were 
 analyzed using a six - camera vicon mx motion analysis system ( oxford metrics group , oxford , 
 uk ) for the gait test of the subjects .
markers were placed on each of the subjects lower 
 limbs in the standard places ( table 1table 1.marker locationmarker numberlocation1 and 2bilateral psis3 and 4bilateral asis5 and 6midway between the hip and knee , lateral surface of the thigh7 and 8lateral femoral epicondyle9 and 10midway between the knee and ankle , lateral surface of the 
 shank11 and 12lateral malleolus13 and 14calcaneal tuberosity15 and 16proximal to the second metatarsal headasis : anterior superior iliac spine ; psis : posterior superior iliac spine ) . for analysis of gait , values of cadence ( step / min ) , stride time ( seconds ) , 
 step time ( seconds ) , step length ( mm ) , stride length ( mm ) , and ground reaction force were 
 analyzed .
a static test was conducted on the force plate in a stationary standing posture . 
 for a dynamic test
, the subjects were asked to walk 12 meters using the walking method more 
 comfortable for them , that is , nordic walking or walking ; after they walked 12 meters more 
 than 10 times , their most natural walking patterns were chosen three times and analyzed . to 
 determine the pole length for nordic walking , each subject s height
asis : anterior superior iliac spine ; psis : posterior superior iliac spine the statistical analysis was carried out using a commercial statistics program , pasw 
 statistics for windows version 18.0 ( spss , chicago , il , usa ) .
all the data on the measured 
 items were expressed as averages and standard deviations ; to verify the differences in 
 spatiotemporal parameters and ground reaction force , a paired t - test was performed . to 
 verify the statistical significance of each result ,
comparison of the spatiotemporal gait parameters showed that cadence ( 118.845.95 steps / min 
 vs. 104.106.32 steps / min ) , stride length ( 1.420.10  m vs. 1.300.15 m ) , and step length 
 ( 0.720.06  m vs. 0.700.08 m ) were increased and stride time ( 1.010.05 sec vs. 1.16 0.07 
 sec ) and step time ( 0.510.03 sec vs. 0.590.04 sec ) were decreased for nordic walking 
 compared with walking , respecively ( table 
 2table 2.comparison of spatiotemporal parameters for walking and nordic walkingcharacteristicswalkingnordic walkingcadence ( steps / min)104.106.32118.845.95***stride time ( s)1.16 0.071.010.05***step time ( s)0.590.040.510.03***stride length ( % ll)1.300.151.420.10**step length ( % ll)0.700.080.720.06*values are shown as the meansd . * p<0.05 ; * * p<0.01 ; * * * p<0.001 ) .
values are shown as the meansd . * p<0.05 ; * * p<0.01 ; * * * p<0.001 in the initial stance phase ( fz1 ) , walking and nordic walking showed ground reaction forces 
 of 105.109.26% body weight ( bw ) and 117.8512.70% bw , which were significantly different ( p 
 < 0.01 ) . in the mid - stance phase ( fx0 ) , walking and nordic walking showed ground reaction 
 forces of 74.277.23% bw and 66.1510.10% bw , which were significantly different ( p < 
 0.01 ) .
in the terminal stance phase ( fx2 ) , walking and nordic walking showed ground reaction 
 forces of 110.205.27% bw and 114.407.06% bw , which were significantly different ( p < 
 0.05 ) ( table 3table 3.comparison of vertical ground reaction force for walking and nordic 
 walkingwalkingnordic walkingfz1 max105.109.26117.8512.70**fz0 max74.277.2366.1510.10**fz2 max110.205.27114.407.06*values are shown as the meansd .
this study was conducted to identify the effects of nordic walking and walking on 
 spatiotemporal parameters and ground reaction force , so that it would be possible to suggest 
 an efficient means of walking for people who perform nordic walking for health .
significant 
 differences were in the spatiotemporal gait parameters between nordic walking and walking . 
 in nordic walking , cadence , stride length , and step length were increased compared with 
 walking , but stride time and step time were decreased .
they reported that 
 the spatiotemporal parameters were remarkably increased during walking , the time of contact 
 with the ground in nordic walking was decreased , and cadence , step length , and stride length 
 were obviously increased8 .
in the present study , it is thought that weight dispersion decreased energy consumption and 
 increased the walking speed due to use of the upper limbs in nordic walking , though the 
 propulsive force was adjusted in the lower limb muscles .
it is also thought that the calf 
 muscles improved the stability of the ankle joints9 and promoted quick propulsion in the terminal stance phase during 
 nordic walking10 .
this study analyzed the changes in vertical ground reaction force in nordic walking and 
 walking .
the results showed significant differences in the maximum force of the load reactor 
 in the initial stance phase ( fz1 ) ( p < 0.01 ) and in the terminal stance phase ( fz2 ) ( p 
 < 0.05 ) .
this corresponds with the results of previous studies reporting that the 
 vertical ground reaction force ( p < 0.01 ) and weight - bearing of the lower limbs decreased 
 in nordic walking11 , 12 . using an electromyogram ,
force plate , and motion analysis system , 
 chiu and wang analyzed the perceived exertion , muscle activity , and joint angle of the lower 
 limbs and ground reaction force in 30 adults depending on changes in the velocity of 
 walking .
they found that walking speed had a clear effect on the vertical ground reaction 
 force : the vertical reaction force was reduced due to increased walking speed in the 
 mid - stance phase ( fz0 ) , and the maximum force rose in the load reactor in the initial stance 
 phase ( fz1 ) and the terminal stance phase ( fz2 ) .
using of nordic walking poles requires an 
 increase in the force of the upper limb muscles to boost the weight - bearing of the body 
 during the stance phase , improves balance and stability , and enhances the metabolism for 
 movement13 .
this demonstrates that nordic walking is more effective in improving functional 
 capabilities by promoting effective energy use and reducing the lower limb load , as the 
 weight of the upper and lower limbs is dispersed during nordic walking . to apply nordic 
 walking as an exercise program ,
it is deemed more important to adjust the natural walking 
 speed and weight - bearing of the body . in conclusion , further kinematic and muscular 
 physiological research should be conducted after subjecting the nordic walking subjects to a 
 long - term training program , and a study on the effect of long - term nordic walking on the 
 elderly or people with a pathologic gait is needed in the future .
 [ purpose ] the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nordic walking and 
 walking on spatiotemporal gait parameters and ground reaction force . [ subjects ] the 
 subjects of this study were 30 young adult males , who were divided into a nordic walking 
 group of 15 subjects and a walking group of 15 subjects . 
 [ methods ] to analyze the 
 spatiotemporal parameters and ground reaction force during walking in the two groups , the 
 six - camera vicon mx motion analysis system was used . 
 the subjects were asked to walk 12 
 meters using the more comfortable walking method for them between nordic walking and 
 walking . 
 after they walked 12 meters more than 10 times , their most natural walking 
 patterns were chosen three times and analyzed . to determine the pole for nordic walking , 
 each subject s height 
 was multiplied by 0.68 . 
 we then measured the spatiotemporal gait 
 parameters and ground reaction force . 
 [ results ] compared with the walking group , the 
 nordic walking group showed an increase in cadence , stride length , and step length , and a 
 decrease in stride time , step time , and vertical ground reaction force . 
 [ conclusion ] the 
 results of this study indicate that nordic walking increases the stride and can be 
 considered as helping patients with diseases affecting their gait . 
 this demonstrates that 
 nordic walking is more effective in improving functional capabilities by promoting 
 effective energy use and reducing the lower limb load , because the weight of the upper and 
 lower limbs is dispersed during nordic walking . 
INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION