Citation

Gerstle EE, O'Connor K, Keenan KG, Slavens BA, Cobb SC. J. Biomech. 2024; 166: e112056.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112056

PMID

38513399

Abstract

Falls are a major public health concern, with older women being at the greatest risk to experience a fall. Step descent increases the likelihood of a fall injury, yet the influence of age and fall history on lower extremity kinematics have not been extensively studied. The purpose of this study was to examine lower extremity and foot kinematics of women with and without a fall history during single step descent. Hip, knee, and foot kinematics of young women (n = 15, age = 22.6 ± 3.2 years), older women with no recent falls (n = 15, age = 71.6 ± 4.4 years), and older women with a fall history (n = 15, age = 71.5 ± 5.0 years) as they descended a 17 cm step were examined. Differences in initial contact angles and ROM during landing were examined with between group MANOVA tests. Distal foot initial contact angles were not significant between groups. For range of motion, both older groups went through greater hip extension (p = 0.003, partial η(2) = 0.25), but less hip adduction (p = 0.002, partial η(2) = 0.27) and less lateral midfoot dorsiflexion (p = 0.001, partial η(2) = 0.28) than the younger women. The older fall group had reduced knee flexion (p = 0.004, partial η(2) = 0.23) than the younger group, and the older non-fallers slightly plantarflexed at the medial midfoot (p = 0.005, partial η(2) = 0.23) while the young women dorsiflexed. Thelanding phase ROMdifferences exhibited by the older adult groupsmayincrease the likelihood of a misstep, which may result in a fall.

Language: en

Keywords

Curb; Multi-segment foot model; Older adults; Stair descent