Characteristics of Unsuccessful Balance Reactive Responses to Lateral Loss of Balance in Older Adults.
Gerontology
; 70(7): 689-700, 2024.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38657580
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
An effective reactive step response to an unexpected balance loss is an important factor that determines if a fall will happen. We investigated reactive step strategies and kinematics of unsuccessful balance recovery responses that ended with falls in older adults.METHODS:
We compared the strategies and kinematics of reactive stepping after a lateral loss of balance, i.e., perturbations, between 49 older female adults who were able to successfully recover from perturbations (perturbation-related non-fallers, PNFs) and 10 female older adults who failed to recover (perturbation-related fallers, PFs). In addition, we compared the successful versus unsuccessful recovery responses of PFs matched to perturbation magnitude.RESULTS:
The kinematics of the first reactive step response were significantly different between PFs and PNFs, i.e., longer initiation time, step time, swing time, and time to peak swing-leg velocity, larger first-step length, and center-of-mass displacement. Incomplete crossover stepping and leg collision were significant causes of falls among PFs. Similar findings were found when we compared the successful versus unsuccessful recovery responses of PFs.CONCLUSIONS:
The crossover step, which requires a complex coordinated leg movement, resulted in difficulty in controlling and decelerating the moving center of mass following a lateral perturbation, affecting the kinematics of the stepping response, leading to a fall.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Acidentes por Quedas
/
Equilíbrio Postural
Limite:
Aged
/
Aged80
/
Female
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Gerontology
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Israel