KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 13-000, 550 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2A2, Canada; Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, 164 College Street - Room 407, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G9, Canada.
KITE, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network, 13-000, 550 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2A2, Canada; Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada.
Appl Ergon. 2019 Nov;81:102900. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2019.102900. Epub 2019 Aug 2.
Understanding the demands of balance recovery on stairs is important for developing strategies to prevent falls on stairs. This study characterized recovery strategies and whole-body movement following unexpected backward balance loss during stair descent in twelve young adults. Following balance loss, peak downward COM velocity was approximately double that experienced during non-perturbation stair descent. Participants used several balance recovery strategies: harness reliance (n = 1), no grasping reaction (n = 3), and grasping some environmental feature (n = 8). Of the five participants who used the handrail, four demonstrated grasping errors. Peak resultant handrail forces ranged from 24.2N to 238.3N. The results highlight the challenge of balance recovery during stair descent, showing that some people will use any available surface to arrest a fall. Our findings serve as a benchmark to understand the impact of stair-related interventions on fall recovery.
了解楼梯平衡恢复的要求对于制定防止楼梯摔倒的策略很重要。本研究描述了 12 名年轻成年人在意外向后失去平衡时从楼梯上下来后的恢复策略和全身运动。失去平衡后，COM 速度峰值大约是正常下楼梯时的两倍。参与者使用了几种平衡恢复策略：安全带依赖（n=1）、无抓握反应（n=3）和抓握一些环境特征（n=8）。在使用扶手的五名参与者中，有四名表现出抓握错误。扶手的最大合力范围为 24.2N 至 238.3N。结果突出了楼梯下降时平衡恢复的挑战，表明有些人会利用任何可用的表面来防止摔倒。我们的研究结果为了解楼梯相关干预措施对跌倒恢复的影响提供了基准。
