Predicting Ability of Dynamic Balance in Construction Workers Based on Demographic Information and Anthropometric Dimensions (original) (raw)
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Automation in Construction , 2018
The construction industry around the globe is afflicted with an exorbitant rate of fatal and non-fatal falls. To lower the propensity of the falls, researchers and safety experts have recommended to supplement the traditional passive fall safety measures with some active measures (such as early identification of task/environmental hazards and personal risk factors). Unfortunately, at present, there is no readily available onsite tool which could identify workers with poor postural controls. This study aimed to develop a static balance monitoring tool for proactive tracking of construction workers on-site using a wearable inertial measurement unit (WIMU) and a smartphone. To this end, a three-phase project was conducted. Firstly, a validation study was conducted to examine the validity of using WIMUs to detect task/fatigue-induced changes in static balance during a 20-second static balance test. The results of the study revealed that WIMUs could detect the post-task subtle changes in static balance with reference to the findings of a force-plate (considered as industrial standard). Secondly, since there were no existing static balance classification methods, five experts were engaged to establish balance classification thresholds using the fuzzy set theory. Thirdly, a mobile phone application was developed for the managers/foremen for onsite balance monitoring of the construction workers using the 20-second test at different times of the day and establishing their corresponding balance performance profiles. This would assist early identification of fall prone workers, plan mitigation schemes before a fall accident happens and ultimately help reduce falls in the construction industry.
International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 2017
Purpose – Repetitive lifting tasks have detrimental effects upon balance control and may contribute toward fall injuries, yet despite this causal linkage, risk factors involved remain elusive. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of different weights and lifting postures on balance control using simulated repetitive lifting tasks. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 20 healthy male participants underwent balance control assessments before and immediately after a fatiguing repetitive lifting tasks using three different weights in a stoop (ten participants) or a squat (ten participants) lifting posture. Balance control assessments required participants to stand still on a force plate with or without a foam (which simulated an unstable surface) while center of pressure (CoP) displacement parameters on the force plate was measured. Findings – Results reveal that: increased weight (but not lifting posture) significantly increases CoP parameters; stoop and squat lifting postures performed until subjective fatigue induce a similar increase in CoP parameters; and fatigue adversely effected the participant’s balance control on an unstable surface vis-à-vis a stable surface. Findings suggest that repetitive lifting of heavier weights would significantly jeopardize individuals’ balance control on unstable supporting surfaces, which may heighten the risk of falls. Originality/value – This research offers an entirely new and novel approach to measuring the impact that different lifting weights and postures may have upon worker stability and consequential fall incidents that may arise.
International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences Research, 2017
Background: The physical-and-physiological factors that modulate balance performance are currently not well elucidated in the extant literature. Objectives: This study investigated the viability of using demographic factors, physical and physiological variables to predict balance performance. Methods: 150 adult males consented and completed all the 17 tests required. Their anthropometric indices (leg length, thigh and calf circumferences, height, body weight, quotelet index, body surface area), dominant leg isometric muscle strength (quadriceps femoris, hamstrings, plantar flexors and dorsiflexors), spinal mobility (back extension and forward flexion), aerobic capacity, isometric back extensor strength, abdominal muscular endurance and the non-timed criterion unipedal stance performance with eyes opened and eyes closed were measured using standard protocols. Results: Significant positive correlations were obtained between several of the independent variables. Thigh circumference was significantly related to quadriceps femoris strength (r = 0.545, p<0.001), hamstrings strength (r = 0.4.57, p<0.001), plantar flexor strength (r = 0.249, p<0.002), and dorsiflexors strength (r = 0.2496, p<0.002). The 17 independent variables combined contributed significantly (F = 2.051, p<0.05) to the prediction of balance performance with eyes opened. Unexpectedly, only 20.9% of the variance in balance performance was accounted for by the 17 independent variables. Stature and the plantar flexor muscle strength were the two viable predictors of balance performance when the eyes is opened; stature contributed 5.5% and the plantar flexor muscle strength contributed 3.8%. Abdominal muscular endurance contributed 3.1% out of the combined 14.4% variance in balance performance when the eyes are closed. Conclusions: From a practical perspective, the contribution of the 17 physical-and-physiological variables monitored in this study to the prediction of balance performance is dreary; therefore, follow-up studies should explore other independent variables. Contribution/ Originality: This study is the first to evaluate the viability of using multiple combinations of physical-and-physiological variables to predict balance performance. The regression equations derived in this study can be used to estimate the balance performance of young adult males.
The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences & Practice, 2021
Purpose: Purpose: Falls are an emerging public health problem causing a cascade of medical, functional, and socioeconomic consequences. Apart from other widely explored risk factors affecting balance, anthropometric factors are also known to have an impact on balance. However, this relationship hasn't been studied extensively in older adults. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the anthropometric factors such as Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Fat Mass (BFM), Waist-Hip Ratio (WHR), Lower Limb Length (LLL), Foot Length (FL) and balance in the elderly among fallers and non-fallers. Method: Method: This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 fallers and 100 non-fallers, aged 60 years and above. These participants were recruited by a stratified random sampling technique from Navi Mumbai region. All the above anthropometric factors were measured and recorded. Each participant's balance was assessed using the Mini-BESTest scale. Obtained scores were analysed in SPSS software; descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation coefficient, and Z scores were applied. Results: Results: A sample size of 100 non-fallers, 50% male and 50% females, participated in this study. Among those participants classified as "fallers," 56% were males and 44% were females. The mean age of the non-fallers was 66±5.01 and the mean age of the fallers was 67.72±6.73. In fallers, WHR showed good negative correlation (r=-.807), BFM as moderate (r=-.577) and BMI as fair (r=-.426) whereas in non-fallers, BMI showed moderate (r=-.546) and fair negative correlation for both WHR (r=-.303) and BFM (r=-.441). However, LLL and FL in both groups show little or no correlation. The Association of all anthropometric factors with the balance between fallers and non-fallers showed no-significant difference. It may be inter-group variance for age, gender and BMI, as participants were not matched for these variables during the recruiting phase. Additionally, the reason for the fall was not explored, thus adding to the limitations of our study. Conclusion: Conclusion:This study demonstrated the impact of increased WHR, BFM and BMI on balance in the elderly fallers and non-fallers. Thus, it is important to screen these factors while assessing biological risk factors for predicting falls. This study further recommends exploring the normative value for anthropometric factors in a healthy elderly population.
Relationship Between Measures of Balance and Strength in Middle-Aged Adults
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2012
Muehlbauer, T, Gollhofer, A, and Granacher, U. Relationship between measures of balance and strength in middle-aged adults. J Strength Cond Res 26(9): 2401-2407, 2012-The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between variables of static and dynamic postural control as well as between isometric and dynamic muscle strength. A single-group design was used. Thirty-two middle-aged healthy adults (mean age: 56 6 4 years) performed measurements of static (unperturbed)/dynamic (perturbed) balance and of isometric (i.e., maximal isometric torque [MIT]; rate of torque development [RTD] of the plantar flexor)/dynamic (i.e., countermovement jump [CMJ] height and power) lower extremity muscle strength. No significant associations were observed between variables of static and dynamic postural control (r = +0.128-0.341, p . 0.05) and between measures of balance and strength (r = 20.189 to +0.316, p . 0.05). Significant positive correlations were detected between variables of isometric and dynamic strength ranging from r = +0.361 to +0.501 (p , 0.05). Further, simple regression analyses revealed that a 10% increase in the mean CMJ height (3.1 cm) was associated with 44.4 NÁm and 118.4 NÁmÁs 21 better MIT and RTD, respectively. The nonsignificant correlations between static and dynamic balance measures and between balance and strength variables imply that static and dynamic postural control and balance and strength are independent of each other and may have to be tested and trained complementarily.
Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 2008
Work Package 3 of the Prevention of Falls Network Europe has evaluated measurement properties of clinical balance measures to be used to: (1) select participants for interventions with the goal to prevent falls in older people, and (2) assess the results of such intervention on balance function. Inclusion in a fall prevention study may be based on measures identifying subjects who have impaired balance or increased risk of future falls. We propose that an appropriate statistical method to analyse discriminative ability of a balance measure is discriminant analysis or logistic regression analysis. The optimal cutoff score is best determined by plotting a receiver-operating-characteristic curve for different cutoff values. The evaluation of predictors for risk of future falls should be based on a study design with a prospective data collection of falls. Sensitivity to change is a measurement property needed to evaluate the outcome of an intervention. The standardized response mean is frequently encountered in the literature and is recommended as a statistical measure of sensitivity to change in the context of an intervention study. Adequate reliability is a prerequisite for consistent measurement. Relative reliability may be reported as an intraclass correlation coefficient and absolute reliability as the within-subject standard deviation (s w), also called standard error of measurement. When measurement error is proportional to the score, calculation of a coefficient of variation can be considered. In a second paper, the authors will evaluate clinical balance measures for use in fall prevention studies based upon criteria recommended in this report.
Turkish Journal of Geriatrics-Turk Geriatri Dergisi, 2016
Introduction: Age-related neural and sensory deteriorations and decline of the musculoskeletal systems affect balance and increase the risk of fall. Our objective in this study is to determine how balance and the risk of fall are affected by increasing age, and search the role of trunk muscle strength on balance. Materials and Method: A total of 90 female voluntary participants were divided into the age groups of 20–39, 40–59 and ≥60 years (n = 30 for each group). Static balance abilities and the fall risks of the subjects were determined using a computer-aided static posturography device and their trunk muscle strength at 60°/s and 120°/s were assessed using the isokinetic dynamometer equipment. Results: When the 20–39 age groups are compared with 40–59 and ≥60 age groups regarding the balance measurements, higher index values at low and medium frequency oscillations were detected. Assessment of the correlation between age and Fourier indexes showed that more balance scores were fo...