Obstacle crossing deficits in older adults: A systematic review

Galna, Brook; Peters, Alana; Murphy, Anna; Morris, Meg E.

doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2009.05.022

Cited by 138 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The close similarities in foot clearance and placement measures elicited by both spatial frequencies (see Galna et al 2009). Although the current lab-based study clearly demonstrates an increase in heel and toe clearance without detrimental effects to locomotion, further determination of how foot clearance changes over low-height obstacles such as the floor-section of door frames in realworld scenarios, where the thickness of the door frame may be greater or less than 1 cm, is required to fully determine the illusions efficacy as a means to reduce trip risk/improve safety.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

The addition of stripes (a version of the ‘horizontal-vertical illusion’) increases foot clearance when crossing low-height obstacles

et al. 2015

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Citation: Foster RJ, Buckley JG, Whitaker D and Elliott DB (2016) The addition of stripes (a version of the 'horizontal-vertical illusion') increases foot clearance when crossing low-height obstacles, Ergonomics. 59(7): 884-889. The authors thank Georgia Halstead for her help during data collection. AbstractTrips over obstacles are one of the main causes of falling in older adults, with vision playing an important role in successful obstacle negotiation. We determined whether a horizontal-vertical illusion, superimposed onto low-height obstacles to create a perceived increase in obstacle height, increased foot clearances during obstacle negotiation thus reducing the likelihood of tripping. Eleven adults (mean±1SD: age 27.3±5.1 years) negotiated obstacles of varying heights (3, 5, 7 cm) with four different appearance conditions; two were obstacles with a horizontal-vertical illusion (vertical stripes of different thickness) superimposed on the front, one was a plain obstacle and the fourth a plain obstacle with a horizontal black line painted on the top-edge. Foot clearance parameters were compared across conditions. Both illusions led to a significant increase in foot clearance when crossing the obstacle, compared to the plain condition, irrespective of obstacle height. Superimposing a horizontal-vertical illusion onto low-height obstacles can increase foot clearance and its use on the floor-section of a double-glazing door frame for example, may reduce the incidence of tripping in the home. Practitioner summaryLow-height obstacles such as the floor-section of a double-glazing door frame are potential tripping hazards. In a gait lab-based study we found that a horizontalvertical illusion superimposed onto low-height obstacles led to significantly higher foot clearances; indicating their potential as a useful safety measure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

The addition of stripes (a version of the ‘horizontal-vertical illusion’) increases foot clearance when crossing low-height obstacles

et al. 2015

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“…These previous studies were summarized in Galna et al's [9] literature review, in which 16 articles were perused from an initial compilation of 727 articles. According to Galna et al, young and older adults infrequently come into contact with an obstacle, such as stumbling into or tripping over it, if adequate time is available to adapt foot placement in relation to the obstacle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mobility performance of the elderly before, during and after crossing over an obstacle

Uchiyama¹,

Demura²,

Sugiura³

2018

Hum Mov.

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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; bbS: 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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“…Conversely, and in concord with our hypothesis, subjects with PD demonstrated a further decrease in obstacle crossing velocities (CVLead and CVCOM) when concurrently listening to music; spatial parameters of obstacle crossing were, however, preserved. Slower obstacle crossing velocities in nonparkinsonian older adults have been associated with a conservative crossing strategy, allowing subjects greater opportunity for recovery in the event of obstacle contact [16][17]. In the population with PD, however, it may be more appropriate to interpret reduced obstaclecrossing velocities as representing a detrimental obstaclecrossing behavior, as the decreased crossing speed may result in more time being spent in the unstable singlesupport phase of the gait cycle.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Obstacle crossing among people with Parkinson disease is influenced by concurrent music

Brown¹,

Bruin²,

Doan³

et al. 2010

JRRD

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Abstract-Multitasking situations exacerbate gait impairments and increase the risk of falling among people with Parkinson disease (PD). This study compared obstacle negotiation among 10 subjects with PD and 10 nonparkinsonian control (CTRL) subjects in two test conditions differentiated by the presence of music played through a personal music player. Subjects walked the length of a 10 m walkway at a selfselected pace, crossing a 0.15 m obstacle placed at the midpoint of the walkway. The results indicated that subjects with PD crossed the obstacle slower than CTRL subjects and that concurrent music differentially altered obstacle crossing behaviors for the CTRL subjects and subjects with PD. Subjects with PD further decreased obstacle-crossing velocities and maintained spatial parameters in the music condition. In contrast, CTRL subjects maintained all spatiotemporal parameters of obstacle crossing with music. The alterations to crossing behaviors observed among the subjects with PD support our previous suggestion that listening to music while walking may be an attentionally demanding task.

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Obstacle crossing deficits in older adults: A systematic review

Cited by 138 publications

References 22 publications

The addition of stripes (a version of the ‘horizontal-vertical illusion’) increases foot clearance when crossing low-height obstacles

The addition of stripes (a version of the ‘horizontal-vertical illusion’) increases foot clearance when crossing low-height obstacles

The mobility performance of the elderly before, during and after crossing over an obstacle

Obstacle crossing among people with Parkinson disease is influenced by concurrent music

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