•  
  •  
 

Document Type

Abstract

Publication Date

12-1-2024

Abstract

Background/Purpose: The deterioration of body stability with age remains an area of interest, particularly in the context of continuous turning during walking among older adults. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of body stability during continuous turning in older and younger individuals, as well as identify potential risk factors, providing a theoretical basis for fall prevention in older adults during continuous turning.

Methods: Fifteen older adults (mean age 69.58 ± 3.84 years) and fifteen younger individuals (mean age 23.93 ± 1.14 years) were recruited from the community. Participants were asked to walk around an 8-shaped continuous turning path (diameter of 1.66m) at their habitual walking speed. Measurements of step width and dynamic stability in the anterior-posterior direction (MoSap) and medial-lateral direction (MoSml) were collected using the dominant leg (right leg) as both the inner and outer leg to evaluate body stability. Step width was standardized using height. Independent sample t-tests were used for data analysis.

Results: When the dominant leg served as the inner leg during turning, the older group showed a significant increase in step width compared to the younger group (Older group: 0.057 ± 0.030 times height, Younger group: 0.035 ± 0.021 times height, P = 0.035). When the dominant leg served as the outer leg during turning, the older group exhibited a significant increase in medial-lateral dynamic stability at the moments when the inner leg left the ground (Older group MoSml: -4.65 ± 2.66 cm, Younger group MoSml: -7.26 ± 2.89 cm, P = 0.02) and touched the ground (Older group MoSml: -19.98 ± 7.36 cm, Younger group MoSml: -27.70 ± 6.34 cm, P = 0.005).

Conclusion: Older adults adopted a strategy of increasing step width when using the dominant leg as the inner leg during continuous turning to enhance body stability. When the dominant leg served as the outer leg during continuous turning, older adults demonstrated increased stability at the moments when the inner leg leaves and touches the ground.

Download

Share

COinS