[Differences in biomechanical parameters during sit to stand transfer between elderly with and without history of frequent falls]. / Diferencias biomecánicas durante la transferencia de sedente a bípedo entre adultos mayores con y sin historia de caídas frecuentes.

INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of frequent falls (FF) is a health problem in the older population, and is a reason why tools need to be designed for the objective assessment of the risk of FF. In this sense the use of biomechanical parameters could be of use in designing these. The aim of this work was to describe the biomechanical differences registered during a sit to stand transfer (STS) between subjects with and without a history of frequent falls. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A sample of sixty voluntary older adults were assessed, divided in two groups of thirty subjects. The first group was composed of older adults without history of frequent falls (WoHFF) and the other group with history of frequent falls (WHFF). In both groups the velocity of the mass centre, the anterior flexion of the trunk, the joint and support moments of the lower extremity and the time of execution during the TSB was assessed. RESULTS: The subjects WHFF generate a slower vertical velocity (P<0.001), lower slope (P<0.001), greater anterior trunk flexion (P<0.0001), lower support moment (P=0.001) and took longer in executing the STS (P=0.0001) than the group WoHFF. CONCLUSIONS: Differences exist in the biomechanical parameters registered during the STS between the elderly WHFF and WoHFF. The results indicate that the function of the hip extensor muscles could have an important role in the execution of the STS in subjects WHFF. The biomechanical parameters assessed during the STS should be considered as useful tools to distinguish between subjects WHFF and WoHFF, and should be considered in the design of tools to determine the risk of frequent falls.

Diferencias biomecánicas durante la transferencia de sedente a bípedo entre adultos mayores con y sin historia de caídas frecuentes / Differences in biomechanical parameters during sit to stand transfer between elderly with and without history of frequent falls

Introducción. El fenómenos de caídas frecuentes (CF) es un problema de salud para la población adulta mayor, por lo cual el diseño de herramientas objetivas en la valoración del riesgo de CF es necesario, en este sentido la utilización de parámetros biomecánicos puede ser de utilidad en el diseño de estas. El objetivo de este trabajo estuvo en describir las diferencias biomecánicas registradas durante la transferencia de sedente a bípedo (TSB) entre sujetos con y sin historia de caídas frecuentes. Material y método. Se evaluó una muestra de 60 sujetos adultos mayores, divididos en 2 grupos de 30. El primero de ellos formado por sujetos sin historia de caídas frecuentes (SHCF) y el otro con historia de caídas frecuentes (CHCF). En ambos grupos se evaluó la velocidad del centro de masa, la magnitud de flexión anterior de tronco, los momentos articulares y de soporte de la extremidad inferior y el tiempo de ejecución durante la TSB. Resultados. Los sujetos CHCF generaron menor velocidad vertical (p<0,001), menor pendiente (p<0,001), mayor inclinaron de tronco (p<0,0001), menor momento de soporte (p=0,001) y tardaron más en ejecutar la TSB (p=0,0001) que el grupo SHCF. Conclusiones. Existen diferencias en los parámetros biomecánicos registrados durante la TSB entre ancianos CHCF y SHCF. Los resultados indican que la función de los músculos extensores de cadera podrían tener un importante rol en la ejecución de la TSB en sujetos CHCF. Las variables biomecánicas registradas durante la TSB deben ser consideradas como herramientas útiles para diferenciar entre sujetos CHCF y SHCF, pudiendo ser consideradas en el diseño de herramientas para determinar el riesgo de caídas frecuentes(AU)

Introduction. The phenomenon of frequent falls (FF) is a health problem in the older population, and is a reason why tools need to be designed for the objective assessment of the risk of FF. In this sense the use of biomechanical parameters could be of use in designing these. The aim of this work was to describe the biomechanical differences registered during a sit to stand transfer (STS) between subjects with and without a history of frequent falls. Material and method. A sample of sixty voluntary older adults were assessed, divided in two groups of thirty subjects. The first group was composed of older adults without history of frequent falls (WoHFF) and the other group with history of frequent falls (WHFF). In both groups the velocity of the mass centre, the anterior flexion of the trunk, the joint and support moments of the lower extremity and the time of execution during the TSB was assessed. Results. The subjects WHFF generate a slower vertical velocity (P<0.001), lower slope (P<0.001), greater anterior trunk flexion (P<0.0001), lower support moment (P=0.001) and took longer in executing the STS (P=0.0001) than the group WoHFF. Conclusions. Differences exist in the biomechanical parameters registered during the STS between the elderly WHFF and WoHFF. The results indicate that the function of the hip extensor muscles could have an important role in the execution of the STS in subjects WHFF. The biomechanical parameters assessed during the STS should be considered as useful tools to distinguish between subjects WHFF and WoHFF, and should be considered in the design of tools to determine the risk of frequent falls(AU)