Transitioning to a narrow path: The impact of fear of falling in older adults

Abstract Background Everyday ambulation requires navigation of variable terrain, transitions from wide to narrow pathways, and avoiding obstacles. While the effect of age on the transition to a narrow path has been examined briefly, little is known about the impact of fear of falling on gait during...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gait & posture 2012-01, Vol.35 (1), p.92-95
Main Authors: Dunlap, Pamela, Perera, Subashan, VanSwearingen, Jessie M, Wert, David, Brach, Jennifer S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental Falls
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging
Falls
Fear
Fear of falling
Female
Gait
Gait - physiology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Older adults
Orthopedics
Walking - physiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract Background Everyday ambulation requires navigation of variable terrain, transitions from wide to narrow pathways, and avoiding obstacles. While the effect of age on the transition to a narrow path has been examined briefly, little is known about the impact of fear of falling on gait during the transition to a narrow path. The purpose was to examine the effect of age and fear of falling on gait during transition to a narrow path. Methods In 31 young, mean age = 25.3 years, and 30 older adults, mean age = 79.6 years, step length, step time, step width and gait speed were examined during usual and transition to narrow pathway using an instrumented walkway. Findings During the transition to narrow walk condition, fearful older adults compared to young had a wider step width (0.06 m vs 0.04 m) prior to the narrow path and took shorter steps (0.53 m vs 0.72 m; p < 0.001). Compared to non-fearful older adults, fearful older adults walked slower and took shorter steps during narrow path walking (gait speed: 1.1 m/s vs 0.82 m/s; p = 0.01; step length: 0.60 m vs 0.47 m; p = 0.03). In young and non-fearful older adults narrow path gait was similar to usual gait. Whereas older adults who were fearful, walked slower (0.82 m/s vs 0.91 m/s; p = 0.001) and took shorter steps (0.44 m vs 0.53 m; p = 0.004) during narrow path walking compared to usual walking. Interpretation Changes in gait characteristics with transitioning to a narrow pathway were greater for fear of falling than for age.
ISSN:0966-6362
1879-2219
DOI:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2011.08.013