Adaptability to Balance Perturbations During Walking as a Potential Marker of Falls History in Older Adults.

ABSTRACT: Given that falls most commonly occur during walking due to unexpected balance perturbations like trips and slips, walking-based balance assessment including walking stability and adaptability to such perturbations could be beneficial for fall risk assessment in older adults. This cross-sectional study reanalyzed data from two larger studies conducted with the same walking protocol. Participants completed unperturbed walking trials at speeds of 0.4 m/s up to 1.8 m/s in 0.2 m/s steps. Ten unannounced treadmill belt acceleration perturbations were then applied while participants walked at equivalent stability, assessed using the margins of stability. Retrospective (12 months) falls incidence was collected to divide participants into people with and without a history of falls. Twenty older adu

SUBMITTER: Gerards MHG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8169998 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature