Dataset Information

Dynamic parameters of balance which correlate to elderly persons with a history of falls.

ABSTRACT: Poor balance in older persons contributes to a rise in fall risk and serious injury, yet no consensus has developed on which measures of postural sway can identify those at greatest risk of falling. Postural sway was measured in 161 elderly individuals (81.8y±7.4), 24 of which had at least one self-reported fall in the prior six months, and compared to sway measured in 37 young adults (34.9y±7.1). Center of pressure (COP) was measured during 4 minutes of quiet stance with eyes opened. In the elderly with fall history, all measures but one were worse than those taken from young adults (e.g., maximal COP velocity was 2.7× greater in fallers than young adults; p<0.05), while three measures of balance were significantly worse in fallers as compared to older persons with no recent fall history (COP Displacement, Short Term Diffusion Coefficient, and Critical Displacement). Variance of elderly subjects' COP measures from the young adult cohort were weighted to establish a balance score ("B-score") algorithm designed to distinguish subjects with a fall history from those more sure on their feet. Relative to a young adult B-score of zero, elderly "non-fallers" had a B-score of 0.334, compared to 0.645 for those with a fall history (p<0.001). A weighted amalgam of postural sway elements may identify individuals at greatest risk of falling, allowing interventions to target those with greatest need of attention.

SUBMITTER: Muir JW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3734288 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dynamic parameters of balance which correlate to elderly persons with a history of falls.

Muir Jesse W JW Kiel Douglas P DP Hannan Marian M Magaziner Jay J Rubin Clinton T CT

PloS one 20130805 8

Poor balance in older persons contributes to a rise in fall risk and serious injury, yet no consensus has developed on which measures of postural sway can identify those at greatest risk of falling. Postural sway was measured in 161 elderly individuals (81.8y±7.4), 24 of which had at least one self-reported fall in the prior six months, and compared to sway measured in 37 young adults (34.9y±7.1). Center of pressure (COP) was measured during 4 minutes of quiet stance with eyes opened. In the eld ...[more]

PMID: 23940592

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Project description:BackgroundFalls are common following stroke and are frequently related to deficits in balance and mobility. This study aimed to investigate the predictive strength of gait and balance variables for evaluating post-stroke falls risk over 12?months following rehabilitation discharge.MethodsA prospective cohort study was undertaken in inpatient rehabilitation centres based in Australia and Singapore. A consecutive sample of 81 individuals (mean age 63?years; median 24?days post stroke) were assessed within one week prior to discharge. In addition to comfortable gait speed over six metres (6mWT), a depth-sensing camera (Kinect) was used to obtain fast-paced gait speed, stride length, cadence, step width, step length asymmetry, gait speed variability, and mediolateral and vertical pelvic displacement. Balance variables were the step test, timed up and go (TUG), dual-task TUG, and Wii Balance Board-derived centre of pressure velocity during static standing. Falls data were collected using monthly calendars.ResultsOver 12?months, 28% of individuals fell at least once. The faller group had increased TUG time and reduced stride length, gait speed variability, mediolateral and vertical pelvic displacement, and step test scores (P?<?0.001-0.048). Significant predictors, when adjusted for country, prior falls and assistance (i.e., physical assistance and/or gait aid use) were stride length, step length asymmetry, mediolateral pelvic displacement, step test and TUG scores (P?<?0.040; IQR-odds ratio(OR)?=?1.37-7.85). With comfortable gait speed as an additional covariate, to determine the additive benefit over standard clinical assessment, only mediolateral pelvic displacement, TUG and step test scores remained significant (P?=?0.001-0.018; IQR-OR?=?5.28-10.29).ConclusionsReduced displacement of the pelvis in the mediolateral direction during walking was the strongest predictor of post-stroke falls compared with other gait variables. Dynamic balance measures, such as the TUG and step test, may better predict falls than gait speed or static balance measures.

Project description:Falls are the second most frequent cause of injury in the elderly. Physiological processes associated with aging affect the elderly's ability to respond to unexpected balance perturbations, leading to increased fall risk. Every year, approximately 30% of adults, 65 years and older, experiences at least one fall. Investigating the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the control of static and dynamic balance in the elderly is an emerging research area. The study aimed to identify cortical and muscular correlates during static and dynamic balance tests in a cohort of young and old healthy adults. We recorded cortical and muscular activity in nine elderly and eight younger healthy participants during an upright stance task in static and dynamic (core board) conditions. To simulate real-life dual-task postural control conditions, the second set of experiments incorporated an oddball visual task. We observed higher electroencephalographic (EEG) delta rhythm over the anterior cortex in the elderly and more diffused fast rhythms (i.e., alpha, beta, gamma) in younger participants during the static balance tests. When adding a visual oddball, the elderly displayed an increase in theta activation over the sensorimotor and occipital cortices. During the dynamic balance tests, the elderly showed the recruitment of sensorimotor areas and increased muscle activity level, suggesting a preferential motor strategy for postural control. This strategy was even more prominent during the oddball task. Younger participants showed reduced cortical and muscular activity compared to the elderly, with the noteworthy difference of a preferential activation of occipital areas that increased during the oddball task. These results support the hypothesis that different strategies are used by the elderly compared to younger adults during postural tasks, particularly when postural and cognitive tasks are combined. The knowledge gained in this study could inform the development of age-specific rehabilitative and assistive interventions.

Project description:Given that falls most commonly occur during walking due to unexpected balance perturbations like trips and slips, walking-based balance assessment including walking stability and adaptability to such perturbations could be beneficial for fall risk assessment in older adults. This cross-sectional study reanalyzed data from two larger studies conducted with the same walking protocol. Participants completed unperturbed walking trials at speeds of 0.4 m/s up to 1.8 m/s in 0.2 m/s steps. Ten unannounced treadmill belt acceleration perturbations were then applied while participants walked at equivalent stability, assessed using the margins of stability. Retrospective (12 months) falls incidence was collected to divide participants into people with and without a history of falls. Twenty older adults (mean age 70.2 ± 2.9 years) were included in this analysis; eight people with one or more recent falls and 12 people without, closely matched by sex, age and height. No significant differences were found in unperturbed walking parameters or their variability. Overall perturbation-recovery step behavior differed slightly (not statistically significant) between the groups after the first perturbation and differences became more pronounced and significant after repetition of perturbations. The No-Falls group significantly reduced the number of recovery steps needed across the trials, whereas the Falls group did not show these improvements. People with a previous fall tended to have slightly delayed and more variable recovery responses after perturbation compared to non-fallers. Non-fallers demonstrate more signs of adaptability to repeated perturbations. Adaptability may give a broader indication of the ability of the locomotor system to respond and improve responses to sudden walking perturbations than unperturbed walking variability or recovery to a single novel perturbation. Adaptability may thus be a more useful marker of falls history in older adults and should be considered in further research.

Project description:Introduction: Falling is one of the primary concerns for people with Parkinson's Disease and occurs predominately during dynamic movements, such as walking. Several methods have been proposed to quantify dynamic balance and to assess fall risk. However, no consensus has been reached concerning which method is most appropriate for examining walking balance during unperturbed and perturbed conditions, particularly in Parkinson's Disease individuals. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to assess the current literature on quantifying dynamic balance in healthy young, elderly and Parkinson's individuals during unperturbed and perturbed walking. Methods: The PubMed database was searched by title and abstract for publications quantifying dynamic balance during unperturbed and mechanically perturbed walking conditions in elderly adults and PD. Inclusion criteria required publications to be published in English, be available in full-text, and implement a dynamic balance quantification method. Exclusion criteria included clinical dynamic balance measures, non-mechanical perturbations, pathologies other than PD, and dual-tasking conditions. The initial database search yielded 280 articles, however, only 81 articles were included after title, abstract and full-text screening. Methodological quality and data were extracted from publications included in the final synthesis. Results: The dynamic balance articles included 26 Coefficient of Variation of Spatiotemporal Variability, 10 Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, 20 Lyapunov Exponent, 7 Maximum Floquet Multipliers, 17 Extrapolated Center of Mass, 11 Harmonic Ratios, 4 Center of Mass-Center of Pressure Separation, 2 Gait Stability Ratio, 1 Entropy, 3 Spatiotemporal Variables, 2 Center of Gravity and Center of Pressure, and 2 Root Mean Square in the final synthesis. Assessment of methodological quality determined that 58 articles had a low methodological rating, a 22 moderate rating, and 1 having a high rating. Conclusion: Careful consideration must be given when selecting a method to quantify dynamic balance because each method defines balance differently, reflects a unique aspect of neuromuscular stability mechanisms, and is dependent on the walking condition (unperturbed vs. perturbed). Therefore, each method provides distinct information into stability impairment in elderly and PD individuals.

Dataset Information

Dynamic parameters of balance which correlate to elderly persons with a history of falls.

Publications

Dynamic parameters of balance which correlate to elderly persons with a history of falls.

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