Epidemiological findings indicate that slip-precipitated falls are among the leading causes of injuries and source of high economic costs in older adults. Appropriate control of the center of mass in slipping is presumed to impact the severity of the perturbation and slip-initiated recovery biomechanics. The goal of this study is to investigate associations between the CoM kinematics evaluated at the onset of the slip, i.e. heel contact onto the slippery floor, and the severity of the slip. Sixteen healthy young (20-35 yrs) and 11 older (55-70 yrs) subjects were exposed to an unexpected slip after baseline gait characteristics were collected. Full body motion was tracked using an 8-camera VICON system (612) and CoM trajectory was derived. Slip severity was assessed based on the peak slipping velocity measured at the heel. ANOVA models were set-up to investigate the relationship between the CoM kinematics at slip onset and slip severity (p < 0.05). Maintaining the CoM closer to the leading (slipping) leg was associated with statistically significant decreases in slipping severity. Also, faster medialqateral CoM transfers to the leading (slipping) leg resulted in slipping velocity reductions. The main effect of age was significant in the ANOVA model investigating the impact of CoM position on slipping velocity. The magnitude of a slipping perturbation is significantly influenced by specific aspects of the CoM kinematics. These findings may potentially be employed to determine if an individual is predisposed to a slip/fall.
Human Movement and Balance Laboratory, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, 740 Benedum Hall, 3700 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Publication Date
20050601
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
chamr@upmc.edu
Funding Amount
149354
Funding Type
Grant
Fiscal Year
2005
Identifying No.
Grant-Number-R03-OH-007533
ISSN
0966-6362
Priority Area
Work Environment and Workforce: Special Populations
Source Name
Gait and Posture
State
PA
Performing Organization
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.