Why the upper limbs move during human walking

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5193(83)80010-1Get rights and content

It has long been held that the movement of the upper limbs during walking counteracts the rotation of the shoulders about the longitudinal axis of the body. Alternative theories of the need for upper limb movement are discussed, and it is shown that controlled upper limb movement produced under the control of centres within the spinal cord is a necessary component of smooth non-jerky locomotion.

References (12)

  • GrillnerS. et al.

    Brain Res.

    (1975)
  • JacksonK.M. et al.

    J. Biomech.

    (1978)
  • BuchthalF. et al.

    Brain

    (1965)
  • ChapmanM.W. et al.

    Bull. Prosth. Res.

    (1969)
  • CostagliolaJ.

    J. Agressologie

    (1977)
  • ElftmanH.

    Hum. Biol.

    (1939)
There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (15)

  • Arm sway holds sway: Locomotor-like modulation of leg reflexes when arms swing in alternation

    2014, Neuroscience
    Citation Excerpt :

    This arm swing could be a passive reaction to the leg motions (Gerdy, 1829; Pontzer et al., 2009) or rather a manifestation of an active control by the neural system because arm muscles contract rhythmically even if arm swing is prevented (Elftman, 1939; Ballesteros et al., 1965). However, it is not obvious what purpose this alternated rhythmic muscle contraction serves, in fact it could be regarded as wasteful (Jackson, 1983). This neural control could be an evolutionary remnant of quadrupedal locomotion where movements in the upper limbs are partly coordinated with the hindlimbs through propriospinal pathways that connect cervical and lumbar spinal circuits such as central-pattern-generators (CPGs) activated rhythmically in alternation (Dietz, 2002; Juvin et al., 2012).

View all citing articles on Scopus
View full text