This research examined aging effects by characterising one parameter of the gait cycle from treadmill walking. The minimum foot clearance (MFC) during the swing phase of gait is an essential event that reveals two things: 1) how the locomotor system achieves control over many degrees of freedom when performing this spatial end point trajectory task while at the same time being challenged by postural stability; 2) the risk associated with tripping over an
unseen obstacle due to the performance of this task. Poor gait stability and tripping induced falls are contemporary issues related to elderly populations, where characterising MFC variability from one stride to the next can provide important links between these issues.