The effect of gait speed and gender on perceived exertion, muscle activity, joint motion of lower extremity, ground reaction force and heart rate during normal walking

[[abstract]]This study aims to investigate the effect of speed and gender on subjective perceived exertion, muscle activity, joint motion of lower extremity, vertical ground reaction force and heart rate during barefoot walking. Thirty healthy young adults, 15 females and 15 males, participated in this study. The Borg CR-10 scale was applied to evaluate the perceived exertion of whole body and 10 local areas. Objective measurements included electromyography (EMG), joint motion, vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and heart rate. The results indicate that walking speed had significant influence on perceived exertion of whole body, as well as the buttock, rear thigh, front thigh and rear shank areas (p