Nakano Hideki, Murata Shin, Shiraiwa Kayoko, Nonaka Koji
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyoto Tachibana University, 34 Yamada-cho, Oyake, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto-city, Kyoto 607-8175, Japan.
Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Naragakuen University, 3-15-1 Nakatomigaoka, Nara-city, Nara 631-8524, Japan.
Brain Sci. 2020 May 29;10(6):332. doi: 10.3390/brainsci10060332.
Walking motor imagery ability is thought to be associated with a fear of falling; however, no studies have compared fall risk and motor imagery ability. This study aimed to ascertain the time difference between imagined and physical walking in older adults at low and high risks of falling. Motor imagery ability was assessed using mental chronometry, which measures the imagined time required for movement. Participants included 31 older adults classified as having a high ( = 15) or low ( = 16) risk of falling based on single leg stance time. The time required for imagined and physical walking was measured using 5 m long walkways with three different widths (15, 25, and 50 cm), and the temporal errors (absolute and constant error) were compared. Physical walking time was significantly longer in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group for the 15 and 25 cm wide walkways. The absolute error between the imagined and physical walking times was significantly larger in the high-risk group than in the low-risk group for the 15 and 25 cm wide walkways. There was also a significant difference in the constant error between the high- and low-risk groups between the imagined and physical walking times for all three walkways. Older adults who may be at a higher risk of falling showed longer walking times during action execution but overestimated their performance (i.e., they believe they would be faster) during motor imagery. Therefore, the time difference between imagined and physical walking could, in part, be useful as a tool for assessing fall risk based on motor imagery.
步行运动想象能力被认为与跌倒恐惧有关；然而，尚无研究比较跌倒风险与运动想象能力。本研究旨在确定低跌倒风险和高跌倒风险的老年人在想象步行和实际步行之间的时间差异。使用心理计时法评估运动想象能力，该方法测量运动所需的想象时间。参与者包括31名老年人，根据单腿站立时间分为高跌倒风险组（=15）和低跌倒风险组（=16）。使用三条不同宽度（15厘米、25厘米和50厘米）的5米长走道测量想象步行和实际步行所需的时间，并比较时间误差（绝对误差和恒定误差）。对于15厘米和25厘米宽的走道，高风险组的实际步行时间显著长于低风险组。对于15厘米和25厘米宽的走道，高风险组想象步行时间与实际步行时间之间的绝对误差显著大于低风险组。在所有三条走道上，高风险组和低风险组在想象步行时间与实际步行时间之间的恒定误差也存在显著差异。跌倒风险较高的老年人在行动执行过程中步行时间较长，但在运动想象过程中高估了自己的表现（即他们认为自己会更快）。因此，想象步行和实际步行之间的时间差异在一定程度上可作为基于运动想象评估跌倒风险的工具。
