Impaired perceived timing of falls in the elderly

Source: Gait & Posture, 2018, Vol 59 p. 40-45

Follow this link for the abstract

Date of publication: January 2018

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: Falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and hospitalizations, with older adults at an increased risk. As humans age, physical changes and health conditions make falls more likely. The body reflexively responds to prevent injury during a fall, though little is known of the perception of this response. Younger and older people were compared for their perceptions of time during a fall: older people’s fall perception was found to be nearly twice as slow. It is possible that such age-related differences in fall perception may relate to increased falls rates in older adults.

Length of publication: 5 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.

Effects of age and lean direction on balance recovery

Source: Gait and Posture, 2014, Vol 39 no 1 p. 365-371

Follow this link for abstract

Date of publication: January 2014

Publication type: Journal article

In a nutshell: This study looked into the threshold of balance recovery, where avoiding a fall is not necessarily possible, and included healthy younger adults, middle aged adults as well as older adults. It measures the maximum lean angle from which people in the various age groups could be released and still recover balance using just a single step forward, sideways or backwards. It found that the older a person is, the less of an angle they are able to recover from and therefore a fall is more likely.

Length of publication: 6 pages

Some important notes: Please contact your local NHS Library for the full text of the article. Follow this link to find your local NHS Library.