Metabolic cost of walking | Stepping forward in understanding the Metabolic Cost of Human Walking

Summary
The mechanisms underlying metabolic cost of walking are unclear. This is important not only because they provide fundamental insight in human movement, but they are also essential to reduce increased cost of walking in the elderly and impaired. To understand these mechanisms, it is required to know the link between energetics at the human level and the energetics at the muscle level. Whereas the energetics at the human level is experimentally accessible, that at the muscle level is not. Current estimations greatly overestimate actual metabolic cost and hence there is no basis understanding metabolic cost of walking.
In this project I will first ever directly measure oxygen consumption of dynamically contracting muscle fibres. These experiments will be conceptually linked to in vivo experiments measuring oxygen consumption during isolated movements as well as during walking. Using these data and state-of-the art optimization techniques applied to detailed neuro-musculoskeletal models I will link energetics at the muscle level to that of a walking human and provide insight in the mechanisms underlying the metabolic cost of walking.
This grant would allow the applicant to return fully to a EU research environment and would have a very significant and direct impact on my career perspective.
Unfold all
/
Fold all
More information & hyperlinks
Web resources: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/655457
Start date: 01-04-2015
End date: 31-03-2017
Total budget - Public funding: 177 598,80 Euro - 177 598,00 Euro
Cordis data

Original description

The mechanisms underlying metabolic cost of walking are unclear. This is important not only because they provide fundamental insight in human movement, but they are also essential to reduce increased cost of walking in the elderly and impaired. To understand these mechanisms, it is required to know the link between energetics at the human level and the energetics at the muscle level. Whereas the energetics at the human level is experimentally accessible, that at the muscle level is not. Current estimations greatly overestimate actual metabolic cost and hence there is no basis understanding metabolic cost of walking.
In this project I will first ever directly measure oxygen consumption of dynamically contracting muscle fibres. These experiments will be conceptually linked to in vivo experiments measuring oxygen consumption during isolated movements as well as during walking. Using these data and state-of-the art optimization techniques applied to detailed neuro-musculoskeletal models I will link energetics at the muscle level to that of a walking human and provide insight in the mechanisms underlying the metabolic cost of walking.
This grant would allow the applicant to return fully to a EU research environment and would have a very significant and direct impact on my career perspective.

Status

CLOSED

Call topic

MSCA-IF-2014-EF

Update Date

28-04-2024
Geographical location(s)
Structured mapping
Unfold all
/
Fold all
EU-Programme-Call
Horizon 2020
H2020-EU.1. EXCELLENT SCIENCE
H2020-EU.1.3. EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
H2020-EU.1.3.2. Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
H2020-MSCA-IF-2014
MSCA-IF-2014-EF Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF)