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Evaluation of the risk of falling in institution-dwelling elderly: clinical tests versus biomechanical analysis of stepping-up

  • David Hewson
    ,
  • Valerie Michel-Pellegrino
    ,
  • Michele Drieux
    ,
  • Jacques Duchêne
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Abstract

Falls in the elderly constitute a major socio-economic problem for modern healthcare. The aim of the study was to extract biomechanical parameters to indicate balance level and the risk of falling in the elderly. It is a preliminary work as part of the development of a home-test based on force-plate technology. Seven faller and 12 non-faller elderly subjects performed stepped up onto a forceplate. Each subject was tested once per weekday for three weeks. Tinetti, Mini Mental Scale test (MMS) and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores were measured before the experimentations. Temporal and ground reaction force parameters were measured. The Tinetti test was not correlated with falls in the following six-month period. In contrast, the biomechanical parameters related to the forces measured at foot-contact and to the durations of the phases of the stepping-up were correlated with fall, as well as with MMS and GDS. These results demonstrated that biomechanical parameters could be used as indicators of balance and risk of fall.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 6122-5

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology - Proceedings (Volume 2007)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 31/12/2007

Publication status

Published - 31/12/2007

ISSN

1557-170X

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/623102
  • Scopus: 57649180454

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