A Novel Approach to Study Locomotion in Under-g Load Bearing Conditions

The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology for systematically unloading in locomotion, which allows for a simple and comfortable weight reduction to study individual movement patterns and adaptations to under-g conditions. For this purpose an unloading harness was constructed. Further vertical ground reaction forces (vertical GRF) were used to develop a formula to calculate the individual unloading situation with respect to the body weight. The constructed unloading harness system allows for a systematical reduction of body weight. Using vertical GRF data, the developed methods enable to calculate the required system settings to obtain the desired individual unloading situation in static as well as in dynamic situations.