PMID- 12933077
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20031021
LR  - 20220309
IS  - 0014-0139 (Print)
IS  - 1366-5847 (Electronic)
IS  - 0014-0139 (Linking)
VI  - 46
IP  - 12
DP  - 2003 Oct 10
TI  - Effects of age-related gait changes on the biomechanics of slips and falls.
PG  - 1136-60
AB  - A laboratory study was conducted to examine gait changes associated with aging 
      and the effect of these changes on initiation of slips and frequency of falls 
      utilizing newly defined biomechanical parameters of slips and falls. Twenty-eight 
      participants from two age groups (young and old) walked around a circular track 
      at a comfortable pace wearing a safety harness. A slippery floor surface was 
      placed on the walking track over the force plate at random time intervals without 
      the participants' awareness. Synchronized kinetic and kinematic measurements were 
      obtained on both slippery and non-slippery walking surfaces. The results 
      indicated that older participants' horizontal heel contact velocity was 
      significantly faster, step length was significantly shorter, and transitional 
      acceleration of the whole body centre-of-mass (COM) was significantly slower than 
      younger participants. Older participants' initial friction demand, as measured by 
      required coefficient of friction (RCOF), was not significantly different than 
      their younger counterparts. Additionally, older participants slipped longer and 
      faster, and fell more often than younger participants. A comparison of horizontal 
      heel contact velocity for participants who fell with participants who did not 
      fall indicated that, in general, fallers' horizontal heel contact velocity was 
      faster than non-fallers. However, a comparison of RCOF for participants who fell 
      with participants who did not fall suggested that RCOF was not a totally 
      deterministic factor influencing actual fall events. These findings suggest that 
      gait changes associated with aging (especially higher horizontal heel contact 
      velocity and slower transition of the whole body COM) affect initiation of 
      slip-induced falls.
FAU - Lockhart, Thurmon E
AU  - Lockhart TE
AD  - Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic 
      Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. lockhart@vt.edu
FAU - Woldstad, Jeffrey C
AU  - Woldstad JC
FAU - Smith, James L
AU  - Smith JL
LA  - eng
GR  - L30 AG022963/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
GR  - L30 AG022963-01/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Comparative Study
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PL  - England
TA  - Ergonomics
JT  - Ergonomics
JID - 0373220
SB  - IM
MH  - *Accidental Falls
MH  - Adult
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aging/*physiology
MH  - *Biomechanical Phenomena
MH  - Female
MH  - Friction
MH  - *Gait
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Texas
MH  - Walking/physiology
PMC - PMC2891178
MID - NIHMS212293
EDAT- 2003/08/23 05:00
MHDA- 2003/10/22 05:00
PMCR- 2010/06/24
CRDT- 2003/08/23 05:00
PHST- 2003/08/23 05:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2003/10/22 05:00 [medline]
PHST- 2003/08/23 05:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2010/06/24 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - VKT47CXRXYHV9LWM [pii]
AID - 10.1080/0014013031000139491 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ergonomics. 2003 Oct 10;46(12):1136-60. doi: 10.1080/0014013031000139491.