Abstract
Our aim was to evaluate differences in gait acceleration intensity, variability, and stability of feet and trunk between older females (OF) and young females (YF) using inertial sensors. Twenty OF (mean age 68.4, SD 4.1 years) and 18 YF (mean age 22.3, SD 1.7 years) were asked to walk straight for 100 meters at their preferred speed, while wearing inertial sensors on their heels and lower back. We calculated spatiotemporal measures, foot and trunk acceleration characteristics, their variability, and trunk stability using the local divergence exponent (LDE). Two-way ANOVA (such as the factors foot and age), Student's t-test and Mann–Whitney U test were used to compare statistical differences of measures between groups. Cohen's d effects were calculated for each variable. Foot maximum vertical (VT) acceleration and amplitude, trunk-foot VT acceleration attenuation, and their variability were significantly smaller in OF than in YF. In contrast, trunk mediolateral (ML) acceleration amplitude, maximum VT acceleration, amplitude, and their variability were significantly larger in OF than in YF. Moreover, OF showed lower stability (i.e., higher LDE values) in ML acceleration, ML, and VT angular velocity of the trunk. Even though we measured healthy OF, these participants showed lower VT foot accelerations with higher VT trunk acceleration, lower trunk-foot VT acceleration attenuation, less gait stability, and more variability of the trunk, and hence, were more likely to fall. These findings suggest that instrumented gait measurements may help for early detection of changes or impairments in gait performance, even before this can be observed by clinical eye or gait speed.
Highlights
IntroductionEpidemiological studies have shown that the 30% of people aged 65 years and older fall, with an increase in incidence to 40% in people over 80 years [2]
Falls among older adults are the leading indirect cause of disability and death [1]
We found no interaction between Foot and Group for any of the outcome measures and no significant effect of Foot
Summary
Epidemiological studies have shown that the 30% of people aged 65 years and older fall, with an increase in incidence to 40% in people over 80 years [2]. This is due to poorer physiological function and control of stability with aging [3]. Gait Differences Between Different Ages important to pay attention to the gait performance of older adults for early identification of stability problems to prevent falls. Many studies have shown that among people over 60 years, females were more likely to fall [5,6,7], as about 65% of women and 44% of men fell in their usual place of residence [8]. We focused on the gait stability of females in our study
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