Gait and Postural Balance Analysis During Head-motion Perturbed Standing and Walking in Older Adults
- Conditions
- GaitAccidental FallPostural BalanceAged
- Interventions
- Diagnostic Test: CognitionDiagnostic Test: Sensory functionDiagnostic Test: FrailtyOther: Biomechanical movement analysisOther: ScreeningOther: Follow up
- Registration Number
- NCT06345625
- Lead Sponsor
- Universiteit Antwerpen
- Brief Summary
The main aim of this study is to unravel the biomechanics of postural balance reactions during head-motion perturbed standing and walking in older adults who fall, while integrating the influence of frailty, sensory functioning and cognitive processing.
- Detailed Description
Older adults above 65 years old experience falls at a rate of 20-40% annually, with women being more affected than men. Unintentional falls are the second leading cause of accidental injury death and a major contributor to disability levels worldwide. Falls pose an even bigger burden on society in the future due to the increasing number of older adults and the higher prevalence of falls as people age. Gait and balance instability are major risk and causative factors for falls in older adults. As people age, their stability decreases. This is evident in the careful way that older adults walk. To prevent and predict falls, it is essential to understand how humans maintain their stability during locomotor activities.
Balance disruptions are typically not caused by walking itself, but rather by internal or external disturbances or the performance of multiple tasks simultaneously. In daily life, people often face complex situations that require high levels of sensory input and cognitive processing. This can be especially challenging when also trying to maintain a safe walking pattern, such as when checking the environment before crossing the street. This task requires coordinated movement of both the head and eyes to track moving objects. Gaze control requires accurate cognitive processing, including multisensory integration, attention, executive functioning, and motor responses to coordinate eye and head movements.
Older adults use different strategies than younger adults to control head movement for stabilizing their head during walking. Therefore, changes in head position may affect gait stability differently in older adults. Ageing can cause frailty, decline in sensorimotor and cognitive abilities, and a reduced capacity to adjust gait to changing environments. These changes may increase the risk of falls in older adults. However, research on these issues is currently insufficient.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 100
- Community dwelling
- an age of 65 years or above
- age < 65 years
- medical history encompassing diagnosed vestibulopathy, orthostatic hypotension, peripheral neuropathy, limb amputation, neurological or neuromuscular disorders affecting balance, diagnosed neck disorders affecting sensorimotor control, blindness, deafness
- a full-time walking aid is indispensable.
Study & Design
- Study Type
- OBSERVATIONAL
- Study Design
- Not specified
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description Fallers Follow up Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is categorized as faller in case of a history of ≥2 falls in the previous 12 months and with identified high fall risk on the TUG (i.e., completion time ≥13.5 seconds). A fall is defined as an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground/floor/other lower level (WHO, 2021). Asyncopal fall, identified through the report of a loss of consciousness during the fall, has a different etiology and therefore will not be counted as a fall (Ang et al., 2020). Fallers Cognition Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is categorized as faller in case of a history of ≥2 falls in the previous 12 months and with identified high fall risk on the TUG (i.e., completion time ≥13.5 seconds). A fall is defined as an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground/floor/other lower level (WHO, 2021). Asyncopal fall, identified through the report of a loss of consciousness during the fall, has a different etiology and therefore will not be counted as a fall (Ang et al., 2020). Non-Fallers Frailty Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is included as non-faller in case of a history of 0 falls in the previous 12 months and without an identified fall risk on the TUG test (i.e., completion time ≤13.5 seconds). Fallers Sensory function Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is categorized as faller in case of a history of ≥2 falls in the previous 12 months and with identified high fall risk on the TUG (i.e., completion time ≥13.5 seconds). A fall is defined as an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground/floor/other lower level (WHO, 2021). Asyncopal fall, identified through the report of a loss of consciousness during the fall, has a different etiology and therefore will not be counted as a fall (Ang et al., 2020). Fallers Biomechanical movement analysis Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is categorized as faller in case of a history of ≥2 falls in the previous 12 months and with identified high fall risk on the TUG (i.e., completion time ≥13.5 seconds). A fall is defined as an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground/floor/other lower level (WHO, 2021). Asyncopal fall, identified through the report of a loss of consciousness during the fall, has a different etiology and therefore will not be counted as a fall (Ang et al., 2020). Non-Fallers Follow up Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is included as non-faller in case of a history of 0 falls in the previous 12 months and without an identified fall risk on the TUG test (i.e., completion time ≤13.5 seconds). Fallers Frailty Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is categorized as faller in case of a history of ≥2 falls in the previous 12 months and with identified high fall risk on the TUG (i.e., completion time ≥13.5 seconds). A fall is defined as an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground/floor/other lower level (WHO, 2021). Asyncopal fall, identified through the report of a loss of consciousness during the fall, has a different etiology and therefore will not be counted as a fall (Ang et al., 2020). Fallers Screening Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is categorized as faller in case of a history of ≥2 falls in the previous 12 months and with identified high fall risk on the TUG (i.e., completion time ≥13.5 seconds). A fall is defined as an event that results in a person coming to rest inadvertently on the ground/floor/other lower level (WHO, 2021). Asyncopal fall, identified through the report of a loss of consciousness during the fall, has a different etiology and therefore will not be counted as a fall (Ang et al., 2020). Non-Fallers Biomechanical movement analysis Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is included as non-faller in case of a history of 0 falls in the previous 12 months and without an identified fall risk on the TUG test (i.e., completion time ≤13.5 seconds). Non-Fallers Screening Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is included as non-faller in case of a history of 0 falls in the previous 12 months and without an identified fall risk on the TUG test (i.e., completion time ≤13.5 seconds). Non-Fallers Cognition Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is included as non-faller in case of a history of 0 falls in the previous 12 months and without an identified fall risk on the TUG test (i.e., completion time ≤13.5 seconds). Non-Fallers Sensory function Community dwelling older adults with an age above 65 years. A participant is included as non-faller in case of a history of 0 falls in the previous 12 months and without an identified fall risk on the TUG test (i.e., completion time ≤13.5 seconds).
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Foot placement estimator baseline measure which estimates where the foot should be placed for stable gait
Latency baseline Latency in msec between the movement of the target and the movement of the eyes and the head when following the target as measured by the Hololens 2.
Fall characteristics monthly during 12 months of follow-up Fall diaries provide information on occurrence and number of falls, activity preceding a fall, cause of fall, obtained injuries and potential care that was received.
Spatio-temporal parameters of gait baseline step length and width (cm)
Fixation duration baseline Duration of fixation of the eyes on target, measured by the Hololens 2
Onset latency baseline latency in msec between onset of movements and activation recorded by surface EMG of bilateral m. Erector Spinae (trunk stabilization), m. Gluteus medius (hip strategy), m. Tibialis anterior and m. Soleus (ankle strategy)
Gain baseline Accuracy of the fixation of the eyes on target as measured by the Hololens 2
Peak amplitude baseline peak amplitude in microvolts of the surface EMG of bilateral m. Erector Spinae (trunk stabilization), m. Gluteus medius (hip strategy), m. Tibialis anterior and m. Soleus (ankle strategy)
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method vHIT baseline VOR-gain and VOR-gain asymmetry in %
Digit symbol substitution test baseline number of correct symbol-digit pairs completed
fHIT baseline statfHIT (Static visual acuity): logMAR-score and dynfHIT (Dynamic visual acuity): % correct responses
Trail making test baseline Time to complete part A vs. B (ratio in seconds)
Go/No Go test baseline Accuracy (number of correct responses)
Fly test baseline Amplitude (in mm) of movement
Multisensory integration baseline reaction times in visual/sensory vs. visuo-sensory conditions (ratio, in %) measured with CatchU app
Head Repositioning Accuracy baseline joint position error in degrees
Frailty baseline Fried criteria: Frailty level (categorical): non-frail (0/5), pre-frail( 1-2/5) or frail (≥3/5)
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University of Antwerp
🇧🇪Antwerp, Belgium