Citation

Carter SC, Batavia MZ, Gutierrez GM, Capezuti EA. Gait Posture 2019; 75: 14-21.

Affiliation

Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College of CUNY, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.gaitpost.2019.09.025

PMID

31586752

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Approximately one-third of falls are caused by the swing foot contacting an object or the ground, resulting in a trip. The increased incidence of trip-related falls among older adults may be explained by greater within-person minimum toe clearance (MTC) variability. RESEARCH QUESTION: Will kinematic variability at any of the 6 major joints in the lower limbs, individually or in combination, be associated with MTC variability? METHODS: This cross-sectional study investigated whether single or multiple joint movements best explained MTC variability in older adults. Twenty healthy older adults (7 males, 13 females; mean age = 71.3 ± 7.2 years) were recruited. Participants were fitted with a modified Cleveland Clinic marker set and walked for 50 trials at self-selected speeds over a 7-meter walkway (with a rest at 25 trials) while 6 infrared cameras recorded kinematics.

RESULTS: Seven joint movements were evaluated, and swing hip flexion-extension variability was the only joint movement significantly associated with MTC variability (r = 0.577, p = 0.008) and explained 29.6% (adjusted R²) of the variance of MTC variability in older adults (F (1, 18) = 8.897, p = 0.008). SIGNIFICANCE: Identifying the joint movement/s associated with inconsistencies in toe clearance will improve our understanding of endpoint control in older adults and may lead to the development of effective trip prevention strategies.

Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Language: en

Keywords

Falls; Foot clearance; Minimum toe clearance; Tripping