Merrill Zachary, Chambers April J, Cham Rakié
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
J Biomech. 2017 Jun 14;58:21-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2017.04.011. Epub 2017 Apr 20.
Slips and falls represent a serious public safety concern in older adults, with the segment of the United States population over the age of 65 accounting for about three quarters of all fall related deaths. The majority of falls in older adults are due to trips and slips. The objective of this study was to investigate how age affects arm reactions generated in response to unexpected slips. Thirty-three participants divided into two age groups (16 young, 17 old) participated in this study. Participants were exposed to two conditions: known dry walking (baseline) and an unexpected slip initiated when stepping onto a glycerol-contaminated floor. The upper extremity parameters of interest included the timing and amplitude of the shoulder flexion moment generated in response to the slip as well as the resulting angular kinematics (trajectories). The analysis of the kinetic data revealed a delayed shoulder flexion reaction to slips in older adults compared to their young counterparts, as well as a greater flexion moment magnitude. Knowledge of such upper body reaction mechanisms to unexpected slips may help to improve balance recovery training in older adults, as well as aid in the implementation of environmental modifications, e.g. handrails, to reduce falls-related injuries.
滑倒和跌倒对老年人来说是一个严重的公共安全问题，美国65岁以上的人口约占所有与跌倒相关死亡人数的四分之三。老年人跌倒的主要原因是绊倒和滑倒。本研究的目的是调查年龄如何影响对意外滑倒产生的手臂反应。33名参与者分为两个年龄组（16名年轻人，17名老年人）参与了本研究。参与者经历了两种情况：已知的干燥行走（基线）和踏上甘油污染地面时引发的意外滑倒。感兴趣的上肢参数包括对滑倒产生的肩部屈曲力矩的时间和幅度，以及由此产生的角运动学（轨迹）。动力学数据分析显示，与年轻参与者相比，老年人对滑倒的肩部屈曲反应延迟，且屈曲力矩幅度更大。了解这种对上半身对意外滑倒的反应机制，可能有助于改善老年人的平衡恢复训练，并有助于实施环境改造，如安装扶手，以减少与跌倒相关的伤害。
