Factors affecting fall severity from a ladder: Impact of climbing direction, gloves, gender and adaptation

Abstract

Ladder falls cause many fatal injuries. The factors that affect whether a ladder perturbation leads to a fall are not well understood. This study quantified the effects of several factors on a person's ability to recover from a ladder perturbation. Thirty-five participants each experienced six unexpected ladder missteps, for three glove conditions (bare hands, high friction, low friction) and two climbing directions (ascent, descent). Fall severity was increased during ladder descent (p < 0.001). Gloves did not affect fall severity. Females compared to males had greater fall severity during ascent (p < 0.001) and descent (p = 0.018). During ascent, females had greater fall severity during the second perturbation but similar fall severity to males during the other perturbations. Additional protection may be needed when descending a ladder. Also, females may benefit from targeted interventions like training. This study does not suggest that gloves are effective for preventing ladder falls.

Effects of upper body strength, hand placement and foot placement on ladder fall severity

“…The perturbations resembled a ladder misstep and were generated by decoupling the fourth rung from the ladder rails shortly after foot contact. This time point was consistent with the time when a person's foot is most likely to slip off of a ladder rung [11,13].…”

“…This study consisted of an upper body strength testing session [12] and exposure to perturbations during a ladder climbing testing session [13], performed on separate days. Thirty-five participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years participated in both sessions.…”

“…Those with musculoskeletal disorders, previous shoulder dislocations, osteoporosis/osteoarthritis, neurological/cognitive disorders, balance disorders, or pregnancy were excluded. This study represents a secondary analysis of primary analyses [12,13] to assess a potential link between individual strength and recovery from a perturbation during ladder climbing.…”

Ladder Safety: A Taxonomy of Limb-Movement Patterns for Three Points of Control

“…We found reports of several studies addressing safety aspects of ascending and descending ladders. One line of research has been examining the response of climbers when a foot slips off a rung [10][11][12][13]. Another examined the required friction to avoid a foot slipping from a rung on ladders set at three different angles [14].…”

“…Does the taxonomy include any patterns that are not practical or simply not used? All the cited studies [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] were based on defining the same four limb-movement patterns. In terms of the six possible patterns depicted in Figure 1, only Patterns 3 and 5 have been studied.…”