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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The ability to adapt gait when negotiating unexpected hazards is crucial to maintain stability and avoid falling. This study investigated whether impaired gait adaptability in a task including obstacle and stepping targets is associated with cognitive and sensorimotor capacities in older adults.
METHODS: Fifty healthy older adults (74±7 years) were instructed to either (a) avoid an obstacle at usual step distance or (b) step onto a target at either a short or long step distance projected on a walkway two heel strikes ahead and then continue walking. Participants also completed cognitive and sensorimotor function assessments.
RESULTS: Stroop test and reaction time performance significantly discriminated between participants who did and did not make stepping errors, and poorer Trail-Making test performance predicted shorter penultimate step length in the obstacle avoidance condition. Slower reaction time predicted poorer stepping accuracy; increased postural sway, weaker quadriceps strength, and poorer Stroop and Trail-Making test performances predicted increased number of steps taken to approach the target/obstacle and shorter step length; and increased postural sway and higher concern about falling predicted slower step velocity.
CONCLUSIONS: Superior executive function, fast processing speed, and good muscle strength and balance were all associated with successful gait adaptability. Processing speed appears particularly important for precise foot placements; cognitive capacity for step length adjustments; and early and/or additional cognitive processing involving the inhibition of a stepping pattern for obstacle avoidance. This information may facilitate fall risk assessments and fall prevention strategies.
© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Language: en |