The Effects Of Cold Temperature On Gait Initiation And Dynamic Balance In Young And Older Females

Abstract

This is an ongoing study examining epidemiological evidence suggesting a non-slip related increase in the rate of falls during the winter for females versus males. Previous research has shown cold has no effect on quiet standing parameters in young versus old females. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of cold temperature on gait initiation and dynamic balance in young and older females. METHODS: Six older (70.5 + 2.7 yrs) and seven younger (23.9 + 2.4 yrs) females performed dynamic balance and gait initiation tests at thermal neutral (33°C) and cold conditions (3°C). Legs were cooled using liquid cooling garment pants. The NeuroCom Balance® Manager™ Equitest® system provided composite scores for dynamic balance assessment. Ground reaction forces were used to calculate COP traces during gait initiation. Three segments of the COP trace were recorded to analyze X (medio-lateral) and Y (fore-aft) displacement, velocity, and smoothness at each temperature. A 2x2 ANOVA was conducted on dynamic balance tests. A 2x5 repeated measures MANOVA was conducted for each segment of the COP trace. A one-way ANOVA was conducted on each segment at both temperatures to determine age differences. RESULTS: Equitest® balance measurements revealed no effect of temperature, although age effects were confirmed. One-way ANOVA revealed a significant between-group difference for segment one x-velocity (p=.02) at thermal neutral. Repeated measures analyses revealed a significant temperature effect on all variables of segment three for young females (each with p<.01). CONCLUSION: We believe our "to date" gait initiation results may be due to a relatively insufficient cold stimulus and limited subject power. The disappearance of a significant between-group difference at cold suggests that young females were more adversely affected by the cold stimulus, which we feel is due to adiposity factors at the induced temperatures. A significant body composition difference was observed between the two age groups (p=.001). This would explain lower leg skin temperatures in younger subjects during the testing, and subsequently, the significant finding of temperature effects for their segment three values. Currently, additional subjects are being recruited to increase analytical power.