Citation

Ohtsu H, Yoshida S, Minamisawa T, Katagiri N, Yamaguchi T, Takahashi T, Yomogida SI, Kanzaki H. J. Biomech. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Physical Therapy, Yamagata Prefectural University of Health Sciences, 260 Kamiyanagi, Yamagata-city, Yamagata 990-2212, Japan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jbiomech.2020.109657

PMID

32035661

Abstract

The primary objective of this study was to clarify whether balance evaluation during walking in elderly people was related to fall risk assessment; the second objective was to clarify the difference in balance strategy between young and elderly people based on the balance evaluation through a gait cycle. Thirty healthy young adults and 25 healthy elderly adults participated. All participants performed walking at their preferred speed and at a fast speed. Based on the margin of stability (MoS), balance during a gait cycle was divided into medial/lateral and anterior/posterior direction (ML/AP-MoS). Positive/negative integral values of ML-MoS were defined as ML-MoS_POS/ML-MoS_NEG, and the average of AP-MoS over the gait cycle was defined as AP-MoS_mean. The fast/preferred ratio of AP-MoS_mean/ML-MoS_POS (AP-MoS_mean (Fast/Preferred)/ML-MoS_POS (Fast/Preferred)) and the fast-preferred difference of ML-MoS_NEG (ML-MoS_NEG (Fast-Preferred)) were compared between groups. ML/AP-MoS at the preferred/fast gait was also compared between 12 gait events and groups. The Japanese version of the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test (J-Mini-BESTest), the Japanese version of the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (J-ABC scale), and the number of falls in the past year were obtained from all subjects. ML-MoS_POS (Fast/Preferred), ML-MoS_NEG (Fast-Preferred), and AP-MoS_mean (Fast/Preferred) were significantly correlated with J-Mini-BESTest. Gait balance evaluation based on MoS may reflect an individual's balance function. In fast gait, ML-MoS at foot flat and toe off and AP-MoS at just before heel strike were highly likely to be gait events to identify elderly adults with balance disorders.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Aging; Fall risk; Gait; Gait strategy; Margin of stability