The Effects of Systematic Environmental Manipulation on Gait of Older Adults.

Max Toepfer,Alejandra Padilla,Kristen A Pickett,Andrea H Mason,Kevin Ponto

doi:10.3390/healthcare8040386

Max Toepfer, Alejandra Padilla + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040386

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Abstract

Quantification of gait changes in response to altered environmental stimuli may allow for improved understanding of the mechanisms that influence gait changes and fall occurrence in older adults. This study explored how systematic manipulation of a single dimension of one’s environment affects spatiotemporal gait parameters. A total of 20 older adult participants walked at a self-selected pace in a constructed research hallway featuring a mobile wall, which allowed manipulation of the hallway width between three conditions: 1.14 m, 1.31 m, and 1.48 m. Spatiotemporal data from participants’ walks were captured using an instrumented GAITRite mat. A repeated measures ANOVA revealed older adults spent significantly more time in double support in the narrowest hallway width compared to the widest, but did not significantly alter other spatiotemporal measures. Small-scale manipulations of a single dimension of the environment led to subtle, yet in some cases significant changes in gait, suggesting that small or even imperceptible environmental changes may contribute to altered gait patterns for older adults.

Highlights

Various environmental features are categorized as regulatory features if they are known to affect performance on motor tasks [1]
To add to the body of literature and better understand the effects of the environment on older adults, this study explored whether systematic manipulation of a single dimension of the physical environment can alter spatiotemporal parameters of gait in older adults
In a recent study by Hillel et al [2], researchers compared the gait of older adults with a history of falling as they walked in a laboratory setting with and without the presence of a cognitive task and compared these findings to measures collected during performance of day to day activities

Summary

Introduction

Various environmental features are categorized as regulatory features if they are known to affect performance on motor tasks [1]. This has been demonstrated by Hillel et al [2] and Bock and Beurskins [3] who found significant differences in the gait of older adults while walking in laboratory and non-laboratory conditions. An inverse relationship has been identified between measures of cognition and fall risk [6,7]. Hindered executive function is associated with gait disruption and increased risk of falls in older adults with [6,8] and without a diagnosis of cognitive impairment [9]

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