Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Guangyang Zhao, Liming Chen, Huansheng Ning
Summary: Sensor-based fall risk assessment technology has potential value in preventing injuries among the elderly, attracting attention from researchers in medicine and engineering. While significant progress has been made in some aspects, there is still a lack of detailed research on this topic.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Yajing Wang, Yanna Li, Shoufeng Liu, Peipei Liu, Zhizhong Zhu, Jialing Wu
Summary: This study aimed to investigate gait characteristics and fall risk in patients with cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD). It found that CSVD patients with seemingly normal gait and ambulation independently still have a high risk of falling. Spatiotemporal-kinematic parameters, gait symmetry, and gait variability are important indicators to assess the high-fall risk, and a decrease in toe-off angle, in particular, and an increase in related parameters of coefficient of variation (CV) can increase the fall risk of CSVD patients.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Noorolla Zahedian-Nasab, Azita Jaberi, Fatemeh Shirazi, Somayyeh Kavousipor
Summary: The present study aimed to investigate the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) exercises based on Xbox Kinect on balance and fear of falling among elderly people living in nursing homes. The results demonstrated that 6 weeks of VR balance exercises significantly improved balance and reduced fear of falling in the elderly participants.
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Ben Sidaway, Joseph Bennett, Stephen Berenyi, Peter Bryant, Kayla Cushman, Robert DiMonte, Kerianne Downing, Sarah Gleeson, Shelby McGibney, Hannah Minard, Sarah Pare, Jeff Rome, Melissa Souza
Summary: This study found that a beam-walking task using a 9 cm wide beam can effectively assess fall risk in older adults. Fallers showed significant differences in distance walked and number of steps taken compared to non-fallers, while gait velocity was not correlated. Additionally, the coefficient of variation for step time and step length during walking could also differentiate fallers from non-fallers.
EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sara Garcia-de-Villa, Ana Jimenez-Martin, Juan Jesus Garcia-Dominguez
Summary: This document introduces the PHYTMO database, which contains physical therapy data recorded with inertial sensors and provides accurate location and orientation information through an optical reference system. The database can be used for analyzing techniques, validating monitoring algorithms, and applying machine learning.
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Luisa Ruiz-Ruiz, Antonio R. Jimenez, Guillermo Garcia-Villamil, Fernando Seco
Summary: Gait parameters such as double-support time, gait speed, stride time, step time, and the number of steps/day or walking percentage/day are significant for diagnosing frailty in the elderly, while parameters related to trunk stability or movements are relevant for fall risk detection. The need for new studies using a more comprehensive set of gait parameters is highlighted.
Review
Cell Biology
Abdelhady Osman, Nellie Kamkar, Mark Speechley, Shehzad Ali, Manuel Montero-Odasso
Summary: The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate the association between FRIDs and gait performance in community-dwelling older adults without neurological movement disorders. The study found that drugs with sedative properties are associated with reduced gait speed in older adults, while statin use has no association with gait speed. There is insufficient evidence on the association between FRIDs and other gait performance measures.
AGEING RESEARCH REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Wei-Chih Lien, Congo Tak-Shing Ching, Zheng-Wei Lai, Hui-Min David Wang, Jhih-Siang Lin, Yen-Chang Huang, Feng-Huei Lin, Wen-Fong Wang
Summary: This study used the k-nearest neighbor algorithm to assess fall risk by combining gait stability and symmetry analysis of acceleration signals. The results showed that the kNN classification on gait stability and symmetry had good accuracy in distinguishing non-fallers and recurrent fallers.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Raffaele Dubbioso, Myriam Spisto, Jeffrey M. Hausdorff, Gabriella Aceto, Valentina Virginia Iuzzolino, Gianmaria Senerchia, Stefania De Marco, Laura Marcuccio, Cinzia Femiano, Rosa Iodice, Elena Salvatore, Gabriella Santangelo, Luigi Trojano, Pasquale Moretta
Summary: This study compared gait patterns in ALS patients with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy subjects, and found that ALS patients with MCI showed higher gait variability and were more prone to falls.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Byung-Kun Lee, Wi-Young So, Hyun-Joo Kang
Summary: This study investigated the associations between fall risk and previous fall events, physical fitness, and gait speeds in older adult women in Korea. The results showed that participants with higher Berg Balance Scale (BBS) scores had a lower incidence of falls and exhibited better physical fitness and gait speeds compared to those with lower scores.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mahmoud Habibnezhad, Shayan Shayesteh, Houtan Jebelli, Jay Puckett, Terry Stentz
Summary: Virtual reality simulations of gait can serve as reliable indicators for assessing fall risk at construction sites. A study examining the effectiveness of a virtual reality simulator in evaluating upper-limb stability during gait at height showed promising results, potentially leading to more effective fall-related safety training and hazard-prevention techniques.
AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Dipak K. Agrawal, Wipawee Usaha, Soodkhet Pojprapai, Pattra Wattanapan
Summary: Accidental fall is a significant health risk among the elderly, and this study focuses on using wireless pressure sensors embedded insoles to train machine learning models for fall risk prediction. Dynamic walking data from 1101 subjects were collected, and six different ML models were applied. The LR model with oversampling techniques achieved the highest AUC of 0.82, while the RF model with oversampling achieved the highest accuracy of 0.81 and specificity of 0.88. These results demonstrate the capability of such models combined with pressure embedded wireless sensor insoles for fall risk prediction.
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Zhen Song, Jianlin Ou, Lin Shu, Guohua Hu, Shibin Wu, Xiangmin Xu, Zhuoming Chen
Summary: The high fall rate of the elderly poses significant challenges to families and the medical system, making early risk assessment and intervention necessary. In this study, in-shoe plantar pressure sensors were used for long-term fall risk assessments due to their portability. By proposing a definition of weak foot and extracting multi-dimensional weak foot features, the study addressed the sensitivity problem of single foot features and facilitated the extraction of temporal consistency related features. Results showed that the fall risk assessment models based on these features had good generalization performance and were practical and reliable in real-life monitoring situations.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Cihan Heybeli, Rumeyza Kazancioglu, Lee Smith, Nicola Veronese, Pinar Soysal
Summary: Elderly outpatients with CKD are at a higher risk of falls due to frailty and low folic acid levels. Further studies are needed to explore the potential benefits of folic acid supplementation in reducing fall risk in this population.
INTERNATIONAL UROLOGY AND NEPHROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Jordan Hernandez-Martinez, Rodrigo Ramirez-Campillo, Tiago Vera-Assaoka, Maria Castillo-Cerda, Bastian Carter-Truillier, Tomas Herrera-Valenzuela, Antonio Lopez-Fuenzalida, Hadi Nobari, Pablo Valdes-Badilla
Summary: This study compares the effects of standard warm-up versus warm-up using stretching exercises on the physical performance of male youth soccer players. The results show that stretching-based warm-up has no effect on jump height, sprint speed, and ball kicking speed of male youth soccer players compared to standard warm-up.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Sport Sciences
Vitor Angleri, Carlos Ugrinowitsch, Cleiton Augusto Libardi
Summary: The study found that all training protocols induced similar effects on muscle cross-sectional area. However, some subjects experienced greater gains in 1-RM when using protocols with heavier loads, such as CP.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORTS MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Odair Bacca, Melissa Leandro Celestino, Jose Angelo Barela, Sergiy Yakovenko, Ana Julia Silva de Lima, Ana Maria Forti Barela
Summary: The study found that constraining knee flexion in non-disabled individuals leads to compensatory strategies, such as increasing hip and ankle joint excursions and ankle flexor activation amplitude.
JOURNAL OF MOTOR BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Rafaela Catherine da Silva Cunha de Medeiros, Racquel Guimaraes da Silva, Radames Maciel Vitor Medeiros, Carlos Jean Damasceno de Goes, Jason Azevedo de Medeiros, Isis Kelly dos Santos, Phelipe Wilde, Jose Angelo Barela, Breno Guilherme de Araujo Tinoco Cabral, Paulo Moreira Silva Dantas
Summary: The study aimed to compare postural control between children and adolescents with and without HIV, with results showing poorer performance in those living with HIV. Significant differences were found in various time variables and conditions, indicating a significant impact of HIV infection on postural control.
Article
Neurosciences
Gabriella A. Figueiredo, Ana Maria F. Barela, Cedrick T. Bonnet, Jose A. Barela
Summary: This study investigated the effects of light touch (LT) and anchor systems (AS) on postural control in young adults. The results showed that both LT and AS reduced trunk sway and the cognitive task did not influence the magnitude of trunk sway or the mean force in the LT and AS conditions.
JOURNAL OF MOTOR BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Nathaly Freitas de Souza, Matheus Belizario Brito, Sergio Tosi Rodrigues, Beatriz Carvalho Cavalieri, Diego Nera Lima, Rodolfo Lemes de Moraes, Fabio Augusto Barbieri, Jose Angelo Barela, Paula Favaro Polastri
Summary: The study found that older fallers had smaller postural sway during saccadic tasks compared to gaze fixation and free-viewing tasks, in both stationary and moving room conditions. The influence of the moving room on center of pressure displacement was reduced for older adults. Older fallers showed higher variability and gaze behavior differences were task-dependent.
EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Cedrick T. Bonnet, Jose Barela, Tarkeshwar Singh
Summary: The study found that in precise visual search tasks, there is a negative correlation between eye and postural movements, where the further the eyes move, the more postural variables are adjusted to reduce sway. This suggests that postural control is adjusted to facilitate accurate gaze shifts.
EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Gabriella A. Figueiredo, Rafael M. P. Paulo, Ana M. F. Barela, Cedrick T. Bonnet, Jose A. Barela
Summary: The study found that subtle changes occur in postural control when performing vertical and horizontal eye movements, with vertical eye movements having less impact on postural sway and greater control at the head level compared to the trunk.
EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Sport Sciences
Vinicius Ferreira Dos Santos Andrade, Luana Loss Cabral, Caroline Kemela Da Silva, John Jairo Villarejo Mayor, Andre Luiz Felix Rodacki, Adriano E. Lima-Silva, Gleber Pereira
Summary: This study compared the development of central and peripheral fatigue between Sprint and Olympic distance triathlons. The results showed that peripheral fatigue persisted until after cycling in both distances, while it fully recovered after running in the Olympic triathlon but only partially in the Sprint triathlon. Central fatigue started after cycling and continued until after running in both distances.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SPORT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Lucas Melo Neves, Raphael Ritti-Dias, Valeria Juday, Raquel Marquesini, Aline Mendes Gerage, Gilberto Candido Laurentino, Renato Hoffmann Nunes, Brendon Stubbs, Carlos Ugrinowitsch
Summary: Brain atrophy, a decrease in brain volume, is associated with cognitive health in older adults. Insufficient moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has been linked to lower brain volume. This study found that meeting weekly MVPA recommendations helps preserve the volume of over 30 brain areas and structures in older adults. Additionally, cardiorespiratory fitness is an important predictor of brain volume preservation.
JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES A-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND MEDICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Natalia B. Moreira, Paulo C. B. Bento, Edgar Ramos Vieira, Jose L. P. da Silva, Andre L. F. Rodacki
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the association between different domains, sets, and isolated or combined questions of the Clinical-Functional Vulnerability Index (CFVI-20) and falls history in older adults. The findings showed that the overall score of CFVI-20 can effectively identify older adults with a history of falls, while most isolated domains are limited to identifying falls, except for the mobility domain. Combining the questions of CFVI-20 can better identify fallers.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Clinical
Leticia Pophal da Silva, Natalia Boneti Moreira, Andre Luiz Felix Rodacki
Summary: This study investigates the relationship between spatiotemporal gait parameters at different walking speeds and cognitive status in older adults. The results indicate that stride length, step time, and single support time can predict cognitive status, and longer stride lengths and faster step times are associated with better cognitive performance.
JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Leticia Pophal da Silva, Natalia Boneti Moreira, Renata Zacharias Grando, Paulo Cesar Barauce Bento, Andre Luiz Felix Rodacki
Summary: This study compared differences in frailty, functional capacity, and fall prevalence among community-dwelling oldest-old adults with different levels of physical activity. The results showed that the insufficiently active group had the highest frailty, worst functional performance, and highest fall prevalence compared to the other groups.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Cedrick T. Bonnet, Tarkeshwar Singh, Jose A. Barela
Summary: Research suggests that performance in a visual search task is better when standing compared to sitting. Postural control is better during the search task when standing. Additionally, participants tend to rotate their head instead of their eyes when exploring images.
EXPERIMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Rehabilitation
Natalia B. Moreira, Paulo C. B. Bento, Edgar Vieira, Jose L. P. da Silva, Andre L. F. Rodacki
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the association between falls and the number of phenotypes identified by the Fried Phenotype and CFVI-20 scores, and compare the strength of the association between falls and each frailty instrument. The results showed that the number of phenotypes and CFVI-20 scores were associated with falls, and continuous scores identified falls more accurately than categorical classifications. CFVI-20 was more strongly associated with falls in community-dwelling older adults than the Fried Phenotype.
ANNALS OF PHYSICAL AND REHABILITATION MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Ana Claudia Fortaleza Marques, Fabricio Eduardo Rossi, Lucas Melo Neves, Tiego Aparecido Diniz, Iracimara de Anchieta Messias, Jose A. Barela, Fay B. Horak, Ismael Forte Freitas Junior
Summary: Combined aerobic plus strength training has a positive effect on gait and balance control in postmenopausal women. The intervention resulted in improvements in walking speed, stride length, and overall balance in the postmenopausal women.
REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE GINECOLOGIA E OBSTETRICIA
(2023)