Abstract

Gait speed has become a key predictor in identifying individuals at risk for falls in both healthy and clinical populations.  Given the cost of falls on the healthcare system and the aging population, decreasing the prevalence for falls and improving gait speed has become an important area of research for reducing the financial burden on the healthcare system.  Cycling, in particular, has emerged as a promising modality to improve gait speed, with recent evidence suggesting that cycling cadence may be a key variable influencing this improvement.  This systematic review aims to identify the current state of the literature regarding cycling cadence and gait speed, with seventeen studies meeting the inclusion criteria for inclusion in this review.  Evidence generally supports the benefits of cycling interventions for improving gait speed, but also highlights inconsistencies in the reporting of cycling prescription variables including cadence, work rate, and intensity within the literature.  Furthermore, the studies identified do not provide insight into potential underlying adaptations that may be driving the reported improvements in gait speed.  Across the included studies, cycling interventions were generally associated with improvements in gait speed or related mobility outcomes across a range of older adult and clinical populations.  Future studies should more consistently report cycling prescription variables and incorporate mechanistic outcomes to better understand how cycling interventions improve gait performance.

Keywords

Cycling, Gait, Cadence, Mobility,

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