Gait Abnormalities in Elderly Fallers

The objective of this study was to measure gait abnormalities in elderly fallers with the Locometrix™ gait-analysis system. This accelerometric device provided the following gait variables: walking speed and stride frequency, length, symmetry, and regularity. The variables were analyzed over a 20-s period of stable walking on a flat track of 40 m. Participants were 20 elderly patients hospitalized for falls (mean age 80.8 ± 5.0 years) and 33 older adults living at home (mean age 77.2 ± 6.5 years). All gait variables were found to be significantly lower in the faller group (p < .05). The lower gait speed, stride length, and stride frequency were previously recognized as nonrelevant in predicting the risk of falling, whereas lower stride symmetry was related to an underlying pathology and lower stride regularity was correlated to the risk of falls. The Locometrix appears to be well suited to measure gait regularity in routine practice.

[1]  M. P. Murray,et al.  Walking patterns in healthy old men. , 1969, Journal of gerontology.

[2]  O. Edholm,et al.  The assessment of gait and mobility in the elderly. , 1979, Age and ageing.

[3]  R. Guimarães,et al.  Characteristics of the gait in old people who fall. , 1980, International rehabilitation medicine.

[4]  B. Isaacs,et al.  Description, classification and prevention of falls in old people at home. , 1981, Rheumatology and rehabilitation.

[5]  Advantages of a simple contact switch for human locomotion. , 1984 .

[6]  Advantages of a simple contact switch for human locomotion. , 1984, American journal of physical medicine.

[7]  M. Yamasaki,et al.  Stereotyped pattern of lower limb movement during level and grade walking on treadmill. , 1984, The Annals of physiological anthropology = Seiri Jinruigaku Kenkyukai kaishi.

[8]  U. Nayak,et al.  The effect of age on variability in gait. , 1984, Journal of gerontology.

[9]  H Nickens,et al.  Intrinsic factors in falling among the elderly. , 1985, Archives of internal medicine.

[10]  Michael W. Whittle,et al.  Gait Analysis: An Introduction , 1986 .

[11]  P. A. Hageman,et al.  Comparison of gait of young women and elderly women. , 1986, Physical therapy.

[12]  M. Lequesne,et al.  Indexes of severity for osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. Validation--value in comparison with other assessment tests. , 1987, Scandinavian journal of rheumatology. Supplement.

[13]  Philip E. Martin,et al.  Characteristic Patterns of Gait in the Healthy Old , 1988, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

[14]  M. Tinetti,et al.  Risk factors for falls among elderly persons living in the community. , 1988, The New England journal of medicine.

[15]  P. Bessou,et al.  Simultaneous recording of longitudinal displacements of both feet during human walking. , 1988, Journal de physiologie.

[16]  Dan Osterweil,et al.  Falls and Instability in the Elderly , 1988, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[17]  M. Bendall,et al.  Factors affecting walking speed of elderly people. , 1989, Age and ageing.

[18]  A. Campbell,et al.  Risk factors for falls in a community-based prospective study of people 70 years and older. , 1989, Journal of gerontology.

[19]  P. A. Hageman,et al.  Comparison of gait of young men and elderly men. , 1986, Physical therapy.

[20]  G. Micheletti.  Le mouvement, E. Godaux, G. Cheron. Medsi/McGraw Hill, London (1989), 300 p., 240 illustrations , 1989 .

[21]  L. Wolfson,et al.  Gait assessment in the elderly: a gait abnormality rating scale and its relation to falls. , 1990, Journal of gerontology.

[22]  D. Winter,et al.  Biomechanical walking pattern changes in the fit and healthy elderly. , 1990, Physical therapy.

[23]  T. Oberg,et al.  Basic gait parameters: reference data for normal subjects, 10-79 years of age. , 1993, Journal of rehabilitation research and development.

[24]  R. Tideiksaar.  Falls and instability in the elderly. , 1993, NeuroRehabilitation.

[25]  J. McNitt-Gray,et al.  Quantitative gait assessment as a predictor of prospective and retrospective falls in community-dwelling older women. , 1994, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[26]  J. D. Janssen,et al.  Assessment of energy expenditure for physical activity using a triaxial accelerometer. , 1994, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[27]  Benno M. Nigg,et al.  Gait characteristics as a function of age and gender , 1994 .

[28]  Jeffrey M. Hausdorff,et al.  Footswitch system for measurement of the temporal parameters of gait. , 1995, Journal of biomechanics.

[29]  H. Okuzumi,et al.  Age-Related Changes in Postural Control and Locomotion , 1995, Perceptual and motor skills.

[30]  Kenton R. Kaufman,et al.  Variability of temporal distance measurements in pathological gait studies , 1996 .

[31]  S. Õunpuu,et al.  Effects of age on the biomechanics and physiology of gait. , 1996, Clinics in geriatric medicine.

[32]  L'accélérométrie : Une nouvelle méthode pour déterminer l'activité physique chez l'homme , 1997 .

[33]  B. E. Maki,et al.  Gait Changes in Older Adults: Predictors of Falls or Indicators of Fear? , 1997, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

[34]  Fall-induced injuries among elderly people , 1997, The Lancet.

[35]  Richard W. Bohannon.  Comfortable and maximum walking speed of adults aged 20-79 years: reference values and determinants. , 1997, Age and ageing.

[36]  Jeffrey M. Hausdorff,et al.  Increased gait unsteadiness in community-dwelling elderly fallers. , 1997, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[37]  G. Giakas,et al.  Time and frequency domain analysis of ground reaction forces during walking: an investigation of variability and symmetry , 1997 .

[38]  Mesure de la force verticale d'appui au cours de la marche: étude comparative entre plate-forme dynamométrique et système portable à multicapteurs plantaires , 1997 .

[39]  Paul Allard,et al.  Three-Dimensional Analysis of Human Locomotion , 1998 .

[40]  R. Moe-Nilssen,et al.  A new method for evaluating motor control in gait under real-life environmental conditions. Part 1: The instrument. , 1998, Clinical biomechanics.

[41]  R. Moe-Nilssen,et al.  A new method for evaluating motor control in gait under real-life environmental conditions. Part 2: Gait analysis. , 1998, Clinical biomechanics.

[42]  R G Cumming,et al.  Epidemiology of Medication-Related Falls and Fractures in the Elderly , 1998, Drugs & aging.

[43]  J. Guieu,et al.  Les stratégies de marche peuvent-elles prédire les chutes chez les personnes âgées? , 1999 .

[44]  Y. Blanc,et al.  Temporal parameters and patterns of the foot roll over during walking: normative data for healthy adults. , 1999, Gait & posture.

[45]  B. Auvinet,et al.  Accelerometric gait analysis for use in hospital outpatients. , 1999, Revue du rhumatisme.

[46]  J Paysant,et al.  Asymmetric leg activity in healthy subjects during walking, detected by electrogoniometry. , 1999, Clinical biomechanics.

[47]  Marianne Schroll,et al.  [Prevention of falls among the elderly]. , 2002, Ugeskrift for laeger.

[48]  Aftab E Patla,et al.  Biomechanical W h n g Pattern Changes in the Fit and Healthy Elderly , 2022 .