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Table 1 Relationship between lower-limb joint and muscle-level neuromechanics and whole-body metabolic rate

From: Impact of elastic ankle exoskeleton stiffness on neuromechanics and energetics of human walking across multiple speeds

Gait Cycle Phase

1.25 m s− 1

1.50 m s− 1

1.75 m s− 1

Δ Exoskeleton Positive Work Rate (J kg − 1 s− 1)

p = 0.3887

p = 0.1490

p = 0.0703

Δ Biological Positive Work Rate (J kg − 1 s− 1)

p = 0.0099, R2 = 0.47

p = 0.0730

p = 0.1107

Δ Biological Moment Rate (N kg − 1 s− 1)

p = 0.6574

p = 0.0502

p = 0.1273

Δ Soleus + Tibialis Anterior Activation Rate (unitless s− 1)

p = 0.0009, R2 = 0.56

p = 0.0497, R2 = 0.63

p = 0.0002, R2 = 0.69

  1. The relationships between changes in ankle joint and muscle-level neuromechanical rate metrics (x) and the change in net metabolic rate (W kg− 1) (y) during walking with exoskeletons over a range of walking speeds and stiffness values, kexo. For each metric, Δ represents the difference from the kexo = 0 condition (i.e., the effect of increasing exoskeleton stiffness) with positive values indicating an increase. We used a within-participant linear regression analysis to determine whether relationships were significant (*p < 0.05), and we report the line of best fit to the data and the R2 value of the fit. Data showing actual lines of best fit can be found in Fig. 6. Note that work rate (J s− 1) and power (W) are synonymous