PMID- 20607122
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20240312
IS  - 0169-8141 (Print)
IS  - 0169-8141 (Linking)
VI  - 25
IP  - 3
DP  - 2000 Feb 1
TI  - Age related effects of transitional floor surfaces and obstruction of view on 
      gait characteristics related to slips and falls.
PG  - 223-232
AB  - A laboratory study was conducted to examine gait changes between younger and 
      older subjects as they walked across different floor surfaces. Twenty subjects 
      participated in the experiment (five each of older and younger males and 
      females). For half of the trials, subjects carried light loads that blocked their 
      view of the floor surface immediately in front of them. Subjects walked on 
      slippery (soapy water on vinyl) and stable (outdoor carpet) floor surfaces, as 
      well as transitioning from one surface to another. Responses studied included: 
      required coefficient of friction (RCOF), stride length (SL), and minimum toe 
      clearance (MTC). Significant effects were found for the floor surface, load 
      versus no load condition, and some interactions involving age (older versus 
      younger subjects). Not all expected differences due to age were found in this 
      experiment. The lack of significant differences between younger and older 
      subjects could be due to the older subjects that participated in the experiment. 
      They were volunteers at a local medical center, were in good physical shape, and 
      were probably not typical of the population of people over 65 years of age. 
      RELEVANCE TO INDUSTRY: Slips and falls in industry are costly safety issues in 
      terms of human suffering as well as financial compensation. In many facilities 
      and at home, people make transitions from one floor surface to another many times 
      each day, while carrying loads or just walking. A better understanding of 
      characteristics of people as they walk on slippery floor surfaces and the changes 
      that might occur with age, will allow engineers to design better floor surfaces 
      to reduce the incidence of slips and falls.
FAU - Bunterngchit, Yuthachai
AU  - Bunterngchit Y
AD  - King Mongkut's Institute of Technology, North Bangkok, 1518 Pibulsongkram Road, 
      Bangsue, Bangkok 10800, Thailand.
FAU - Lockhart, Thurmon
AU  - Lockhart T
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  - Journal Article
PL  - Netherlands
TA  - Int J Ind Ergon
JT  - International journal of industrial ergonomics
JID - 8703510
PMC - PMC2895255
MID - NIHMS212334
EDAT- 2000/02/01 00:00
MHDA- 2000/02/01 00:01
PMCR- 2010/07/01
CRDT- 2011/09/28 06:00
PHST- 2011/09/28 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2000/02/01 00:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2000/02/01 00:01 [medline]
PHST- 2010/07/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1016/S0169-8141(99)00012-8 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Int J Ind Ergon. 2000 Feb 1;25(3):223-232. doi: 10.1016/S0169-8141(99)00012-8.