"Motion DNA" to continue walking for life
Walking is a basic part of everyday life that we do not give much thought to, such as when doing housework, going out, shopping, and travelling. It links up almost all our living activities. Losing the ability to walk would signify a decline in the quality of life (QOL). In fact, there is a correlative relationship between walking speed and health expectancy—we know that those who walk quickly have long health expectancies, while those who walk slowly have short health expectancies.
It is generally said that there will be greater individual disparities in walking ability from 75 years old and beyond, and the number of people requiring assistance and care also increases from this age onward. However, there are also some who begin to experience a decline in walking ability from around 50 years old. In view of that, Mizuno has developed “Motion DNA” as a core theory that scientifically assesses and determines the walking motion. This will enable people to put in place measures to effectively maintain our walking ability from an early stage, so that we can live actively for a longer time.
The core theory of “Motion DNA” is the result of collaborative research between Mizuno and Professor Akira Iwata from the Department of Rehabilitation Science, School of Medicine at the Osaka Metropolitan University. Its most distinct feature is that it classifies the human walk into four categories based on their standing posture. The “walking characteristics” and “functions/parts needed for walking” vary between each type of walk, so knowing your walking category can help you to learn about the functions and parts that are required for walking.
By analyzing the types of walks and walking abilities, Mizuno teaches training methods for strengthening one’s walking ability efficiently and effectively, and provides products and services that provide optimal support for maintaining and enhancing walking ability.
It is also very easy to measure walking ability and determine the type of walk. Firstly, walking ability can be determined from walking just five meters, by measuring the elements that make up walking ability—walking speed, step length, and the walking trajectory. The measured data for each element is compared to the reference range for the respective gender and age group, and feedback is then provided in five stages. Furthermore, the walking category can be determined simply by attaching the measurement belt and taking a picture. The proprietary standing posture measurement system and application developed by Mizuno will reveal the individual’s walking characteristics and the functions/parts needed for walking.
With a view to taking advantage of the simplicity of taking these measurements to raise awareness of health among more people and create opportunities for them to learn about their health, Mizuno aims to provide the experience of using “Motion DNA” to measure the walking ability to 100,000 people by 2023.
Mizuno has developed “Motion DNA” as one of its services that embody the vision behind its “POWERED LIFE” concept of “Delivering good performance to your life.” By making walking more enjoyable for people, “Motion DNA” aims to support the aspiration of a life in which we can walk to wherever we want, for as long as we want to.
