Citation

Shin S, Demura S, Watanabe T, Shi B, Yabumoto T, Matsuoka T. Adv. Aging Res. 2014; 3(2): 124-129.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Scientific Research Publishing)

DOI

10.4236/aar.2014.32020

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of a fall experience caused by tripping during the repetitive stepping movements over an obstacle [obstacle-single leg forward step (OSFS) test]. The study included 147 participants who were divided into 2 groups: 25 fallers caused by tripping and 122 nonfallers. The subjects were asked to step forward over a 10-cm-high obstacle with 1 leg and then return to their original position, as quickly as possible, and this test was repeated for 5 times. The OSFS test was evaluated in 2 phases: the OSFS-F phase, wherein the participants stepped forward on one leg, and the OSFS-R phase, wherein they returned to their original position. Significant differences were observed in both phases of the OSFS test between the two groups, and the fallers by tripping were significantly inferior to the nonfallers. The area under the curve [AUC; area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve] was more than 0.63 for all the parameters, which was statistically significant. In conclusion, the fallers by tripping were inferior to the nonfallers in the obstacle step movement.

Language: en