The objective of this study was to reveal the characteristics of lower extremity motions of middle-aged women in accordance with their walking speed, and also to suggest elements of improving functions of walking-shoe for the improvement of gait stability. Total 30 healthy middle-aged women were asked to walk in their preferred speed and also speed 20% faster than that. Using the 3D motion capture system and the plantar pressure measuring system, the characteristics of lower extremity motions were measured. For the analysis on differences in motions between preferred and faster speeds, the paired t-test was performed. At this time, the significance level was set up as α=.05. The walking in faster speed showed the greater ground contact angle than walking in preferred speed while its gait stability was low. Also, the faster walking showed the bigger plantar pressure, and especially, the pressure on the great toe was high. It would be necessary to improve functions of shoes for the gait stability and dispersion of pressure on feet while fast walking.
