{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T01:44:30Z","timestamp":1790991870416,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,14]],"date-time":"2025-01-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736812800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"JSPS KAKENHI","award":["16H01870"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["16H01870"]}]},{"name":"Bualuang ASEAN Chair Professorship, Thammasat University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Walking patterns can differ between children and adults, both kinematically and kinetically. However, the detailed nature of the ankle pattern has not been clarified. We investigated musculature, biomechanics, and muscle activation strategies and their relevance to walking performance in preschool (PS) and school children (SC), with adults (AD) as reference. Twenty-six PS (3\u20135 yr), 20 SC (6\u20138 yr), and 17 AD (18\u201330 yr) participated. Tibialis anterior (TA) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) thicknesses, fascicle lengths, and maximal voluntary dorsi- and plantar flexion isometric torques were measured. Hip, knee, and ankle kinematics, ground reaction forces (GRFs), and TA and MG electromyographic activities were recorded during shod walking at each participant\u2019s preferred speed. Walking speed, step length, and cadence were correlated with age in PS. These walking performance measures were also correlated with muscle thickness and fascicle length, showing higher speed in individuals with thicker muscles and longer TA and MG fascicles (conversely, higher cadence with thinner muscles and shorter fascicles). AD demonstrated the largest values for muscle thickness (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>&lt;0.001), fascicle length (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>&lt;0.001), strength (<jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>&lt;0.001), and walking performance (speed <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic> = 0.004; step length p&lt;0.001; cadence <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>&lt;0.001), followed by SC then PS. Both PS and SC exhibited higher TA activities than AD during the stance phase, resulting in a higher co-activation index. The GRFs relative to body weight were lower in both horizontal and vertical components in PS compared to SC and AD, while the relative lateral force during stance was greatest in PS followed by SC and then AD. Differences in preferred walking speed and step length were associated with age and muscle size. Children, particularly preschool-aged, employed a co-activation strategy of dorsi- and plantar flexors for stabilization, which resulted in sideways steps even at a preferred walking speed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0316826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,14]],"date-time":"2025-01-14T18:31:39Z","timestamp":1736879499000},"page":"e0316826","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Ankle muscle strength and activation are associated with walking patterns in preschool and school-age children"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Sudarat","family":"Apibantaweesakul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shiho","family":"Omura","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weihuang","family":"Qi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3958-8193","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Natsuki","family":"Sado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9214-4068","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hiroto","family":"Shiotani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fumiko","family":"Tanaka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Plaiwan","family":"Suttanon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0588-4039","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yasuo","family":"Kawakami","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0316826.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2396","DOI":"10.1098\/rsif.2012.0179","article-title":"The human foot and heel-sole-toe walking strategy: A mechanism enabling an inverted pendular gait with low isometric muscle force?","volume":"9","author":"J Usherwood","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of the Royal Society, Interface \/ the Royal Society"},{"key":"pone.0316826.ref002","volume-title":"Gait analysis: Normal and pathological function","author":"J Perry","year":"2010","edition":"2"},{"key":"pone.0316826.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1630003","DOI":"10.1142\/S0219519416300039","article-title":"Gait analysis: systems, technologies, and importance","volume":"16","author":"M Akhtaruzzaman","year":"2016","journal-title":"Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology"},{"issue":"15","key":"pone.0316826.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2447","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2009.07.026","article-title":"3D joint dynamics analysis of healthy children\u2019s gait","volume":"42","author":"W Samson","year":"2009","journal-title":"Journal of biomechanics"},{"key":"pone.0316826.ref005","volume-title":"The biomechanics of the foot and ankle","author":"RA Donatelli","year":"1996","edition":"2"},{"key":"pone.0316826.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1321","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jbiomech.2011.01.007","article-title":"Foot mechanics during the first six years of independent walking","volume":"44","author":"W Samson","year":"2011","journal-title":"Journal of biomechanics"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0316826.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7822","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-022-11906-1","article-title":"Three-dimensional gait analysis of lower extremity gait parameters in Japanese children aged 6 to 12 years","volume":"12","author":"T Ito","year":"2022","journal-title":"Scientific Reports"},{"key":"pone.0316826.ref008","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1097\/01241398-199105000-00012","article-title":"Three-Dimensional Lower Extremity Joint Kinetics in Normal Pediatric Gait","volume":"11","author":"R Ounpuu S","year":"1991","journal-title":"Journal of pediatric orthopedics"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0316826.ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"682","DOI":"10.1055\/s-2004-830382","article-title":"Influence of speed variation and age on ground reaction forces and stride parameters of children\u2019s normal gait","volume":"26","author":"M Diop","year":"2005","journal-title":"International journal of sports medicine"},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0316826.ref010","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"522","DOI":"10.1097\/01241398-199207000-00021","article-title":"Wave pattern of ground reaction force of growing children","volume":"12","author":"Y. 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