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Proposal to use an obstructed timed “up & go” test to assess the risk of falling in healthy elderly individuals

100%

Uchiyama M., Demura S.

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

2012

vol. 4

issue 3

147-154

Background: Obstacles are a common cause of falls. Mobility tests for healthy elderly that involve maneuvering over an obstacle have not been fully developed. We have shown that a small box placed on the walkway of a representative mobility test, the Timed Up & Go (TUG) for the frail elderly, influences the test performances of the healthy female elderly. However, the validity of this obstructed TUG (OTUG) as a fall risk assessment tool has not yet been clarified. This study examined the relationship between the OTUG and the fall risk for the healthy elderly. Material/Methods: 66 healthy community-dwelling elderly and 19 healthy elderly persons living in a nursing home participated in the study. In the TUG, participants stood up from a chair, walked 3 m, turned around, walked back to the chair and sat down. In the OTUG, a box (height 5 cm, depth 10 cm) was placed at the midpoint of the walkway. Participants were instructed to step over it safely. Times required to perform the respective test were recorded. Fall risk scores, the required times (s) for the TUG and OTUG and difference ratios (OTUG/TUG x 100) (%) were analyzed. Results: Correlations between fall risk and other mobility performances were all significant. However, the correlation between fall risk and the OTUG (r = 0.60) was significantly higher than that between fall risk and the TUG (r=0.49) (t=3.733, p<0.001). Conclusions: Compared to the TUG, the OTUG is more valid for assessing the fall risk of community- dwelling healthy elderly

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

81%

Uchiyama M., Demura S., Sugiura H.

Human Movement

2012

vol. 13

issue 4

297-302

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.

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1 Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

1 Human Movement

2 2012

2 Demura S.

2 Uchiyama M.

1 Sugiura H.

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Proposal to use an obstructed timed “up & go” test to assess the risk of falling in healthy elderly individuals

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