The Mobility Performance of the Elderly Before, During and After Crossing Over an Obstacle

• Authors: Masanobu Uchiyama , Shinichi Demura , Hiroki Sugiura
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

Purpose. Tripping over objects is a major cause of fall-related injuries. The elderly feature decreased locomotor velocity with aging and delays in locomotion when encountering obstacles. Numerous studies have analyzed how the mobility performance of the elderly is affected when crossing over an obstacle. However, how is mobility performance affected when performing sequences of various locomotor movements (gait, changing direction, standing up and sitting down) that make up activities of daily living? To answer this question, this study investigated the changes in locomotor velocity when encountering an obstacle during various locomotor movements in both older adults and young adults by using the TUG, a representative mobility test. Methods. Thirty older adults who were judged to be able to walk independently by the Berg Balance Scale (BSS) (age: 70.0 ± 6.94 yrs; BB S: 54.7 ± 1.78 pts) and seventeen male young adults (age: 21.7 ± 2.37 yrs) participated in the “Timed Up & Go” (TUG) test with and without an obstacle. Using the TUG score (the total time required to complete the test), a rate of the total times (with an obstacle/ without an obstacle) was calculated to create an index of the decline in mobility performance by the obstacle. Results. The decline in the mobility performance of the elderly was significantly larger than the young adults for the following measurements: in the single stance phases just before and after an obstacle, the time needed to change direction 180 degrees, and for level walking after crossing over an obstacle. Conclusions. The elderly require a longer period of time for stepping over obstacles. Gait and the ability to change direction after encountering an obstacle was found to be slower when compared to the younger male population.

Keywords

EN

age difference; obstacle; fall; TUG

• Publisher: De Gruyter Open
• Journal: Human Movement
• Year: 2012
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 297-302

Dates

published

1 - 11 - 2012

online

26 - 01 - 2013

Contributors

author

Masanobu Uchiyama

• Research and Education Center for Comprehensive Science, Akita Prefectural University, Kaidobata-Nishi, Shimoshinjo-Nakano, Akita, Akita 010-0195, Japan

author

Shinichi Demura

• Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

author

Hiroki Sugiura

• Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

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Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/v10038-012-0034-1