The findings of this study suggest that risk factors for indoor and outdoor falls are different. Location of fall may be an important confounder in studies of predictors of falls in the elderly which should encompass this type of information.

A special gait-training programme, combining a psychological therapeutic approach with methods in physiotherapy and body awareness, was used to re-educate nine unilateral transfemoral amputees. All were rehabilitated trauma or tumour amputees with an age of 16-60 years. They had worn prostheses for more than 18 months. The re-education aimed at integrating the prosthesis in normal movements and increasing body awareness. Gait was measured before and after treatment and at 6 months follow-up with a three-dimensional motion analysis system. Results showed almost normalised gait speed and increased symmetry in the hip joints with increased muscle work on the amputated side both immediately and at follow-up. At follow-up there were significant differences in almost all parameters between the two legs of the subjects and when compared to a reference group of 18 healthy volunteers of similar age. Thus, the intact leg compensates for loss of function in the amputated leg and thereby works differently compared to the reference group. For example, during shock absorption the extension moment in the intact knee increased from 0.6Nm/kg before to 1.0Nm/kg after treatment and at follow-up compared to 0.4 Nm/kg in the reference group. The eccentric power of quadriceps increased from 0.6w/kg before to 1.8w/kg after treatment and 1.7w/kg at

Aim  The aim of this study was to explore changes in motor function up to 10 years after selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). Method  The participants comprised 29 children (20 males, nine females) with bilateral spastic diplegia who were consecutively operated on at a median age of 4 years and 3 months and followed until a median age of 15 years. SDR was combined with physiotherapy and regular follow‐up visits. The distribution of preoperative Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels was as follows: I, n=1; II, n=7; III, n=8; IV, n=12; and V, n=1. Muscle tone in hip flexors, hip adductors, knee flexors, and plantar flexors was assessed with the modified Ashworth scale, passive range of motion in hip abduction, popliteal angle, maximum knee extension, dorsiflexion of the foot was measured with a goniometer, and gross motor function was assessed using the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM‐66). The results were compared with preoperative values, taking into account age at the time of SDR. Results  After 10 years, muscle tone in hip flexors, hip adductors, knee flexors and plantar flexors was normalized in 19, 24, 13 and 23 participants respectively; mean change in passive range of motion ranged from −2.0° to 8.6°, and the mean increase in GMFM‐66 was 10.6. Changes in GMFM‐66 were associated with preoperative GMFCS level and GMFM‐66 scores. Interpretation  Children who underwent SDR and physiotherapy and were regularly followed up by an experienced team showed improved gross motor function for up to 10 years postoperatively.

Previously [The abstract has been shortened somewhat, and the headings removed, in order to conform to journal style], we have observed vestibular asymmetry in about one-third of healthy senior citizens and in about two-thirds of subjects with previous hip fractures and no other significant ailments. Wrist fractures are considered a harbinger of hip fractures. If vestibular asymmetry is correlated with falls and fractures among the elderly then it should also be reflected among subjects with wrist fractures. Sixty-six consecutive patients (mean age 67.8 years) who had sustained a fall-related wrist fracture during a 10-month period were included in the study. The frequency of head shake nystagmus among the patients was compared to that found among 49 healthy senior citizens (mean age 74.9 years). Nystagmus after head shaking, indicating asymmetric vestibular function, was found in 50 participants (76%) (p <0.001). Thirty-eight of these were graded with distinct or prominent nystagmus responses. Sixty percent of the subjects with horizontal nystagmus had a wrist fracture coinciding with the slow phase of nystagmus. Twenty-three subjects reported 30 previous fall-related fractures during the previous 10 years. Subjects with nystagmus after head shaking sustained 26 of these fractures. The frequency of signs of vestibular asymmetry was significantly higher (p < 0.001) among the subjects than among healthy senior citizens. These findings suggest that an asymmetric vestibular function could be an epidemiologically important contributory factor to falls and wrist fractures among the elderly population.