Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Background Falls are commonplace among elderly people. It is urgent to prevent falls. Previous studies have confirmed that there is a difference in plantar pressure between falls and non-falls in elderly people, but the relationship between fall risk and foot pressure has not been studied. In this study, the differences in dynamic plantar pressure between elderly people with high and low fall risk were preliminarily discussed, and the characteristic parameters of plantar pressure were determined. Methods Twenty four high-fall-risk elderly individuals (HR) and 24 low-fall-risk elderly individuals (LR) were selected using the Berg Balance Scale 40 score. They wore wearable foot pressure devices to walk along a 20-m-long corridor. The peak pressure (PP), pressure time integral (PTI), pressure gradient (maximum pressure gradient (MaxPG), minimum pressure gradient (MinPG), full width at half maximum (FWHM)) and average pressure (AP) of their feet were measured for inter-group and intra-group analysis. Results The foot pressure difference comparing the high fall risk with low fall risk groups was manifested in PP and MaxPG, concentrated in the midfoot and heel (p < 0.05), while the only time parameter, FWHM, was manifested in the whole foot (p < 0.05). The differences between the left and right foot were reflected in all parameters. The differences between the left and right foot in LR were mainly reflected in the heel (p < 0.05), while it in the HR was mainly reflected in the forefoot (p < 0.05). Conclusions The differences comparing the high fall risk with low fall risk groups were mostly reflected in the midfoot and heel. The HR may have been more cautious when landing. In the intra-group comparison, the difference between the right and left foot of the LR was mainly reflected during heel striking, while it was mainly reflected during pedalling in the HR. The sensitivity of PP, PTI and AP was lower and the newly introduced pressure gradient could better reflect the difference in foot pressure between the two groups. The pressure gradient can be used as a new foot pressure parameter in scientific research.

Identifying changes in dynamic plantar pressure associated with radiological knee osteoarthritis based on machine learning and wearable devices

“…The sensor positions mentioned above were determined based on previous research [ 15 ]. The stability and effectiveness of the footwear system have been validated by previous studies [ 24 , 31 , 32 ]. The participants were asked to wear socks and appropriate shoes.…”

Do visual and step height factors cause imbalance during bipedal and unipedal stances? A plantar pressure perspective

“…In addition, we also discovered that prior research has concentrated on falls between people who have already sustained a primary injury from a fall as opposed to those who have not. Therefore, there are few research on the risk and foot pressure before falls, despite the fact that preventing falls is the most crucial step in preventing them ( Yan et al, 2023 ). However, plantar pressure is a crucial component of standing and walking.…”

Influence of Active Back-Support Exoskeleton on Fall Hazard in Construction

“…Studies have explored the use of wearable sensors for assessing fall hazards across various sectors and during different events. Gait metrics extracted from inertial measurement unit (IMU) (Jebelli, Ahn, & Stentz, 2016;Liu, Zhang, & Lockhart, 2012) and pressure insoles (Antwi-Afari & Li, 2018;Mickle, Munro, Lord, Menz, & Steele, 2010;Yan et al, 2023) have been employed to evaluate fall risks. For instance, Liu et al (2012) investigated fall hazards among three groups -healthy young, healthy old, and fall prone old -during a tread mill activity using IMU.…”

“…Specifically, higher peak pressure could disrupt balance and stability and lead to fall hazards Yan et al ( 2023) (Mickle et al, 2010). Recently, studies have examined the use of peak pressure metric of the foot plantar pressure for the assessment of fall risk for elderly people (Mickle et al, 2010;Yan et al, 2023) and construction workers (Antwi-Afari & Li, 2018). For instance, Mickle et al (2010) conducted a fall risk assessment among older individuals classified as fallers and non-fallers during a walking task.…”

“…The study revealed significantly higher peak pressure among the fallers, with the heel, metatarsal, and toe regions of the foot showing significantly elevated peak pressure. Yan et al (2023) assessed fall hazards in older individuals categorized as low-risk and high-risk for falls, utilizing pressure insoles during a walking task. The foot plantar pressure distribution was captured for all foot regions, divided into eight sections.…”