Gait Characteristics Associated with Trip-Induced Falls on Level and Sloped Irregular Surfaces (original) (raw)
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International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 2000
A laboratory study was conducted to examine gait changes between younger and older subjects as they walked across different floor surfaces. Twenty subjects participated in the experiment (five each of older and younger males and females). For half of the trials, subjects carried light loads that blocked their view of the floor surface immediately in front of them. Subjects walked on slippery (soapy water on vinyl) and stable (outdoor carpet) floor surfaces, as well as transitioning from one surface to another. Responses studied included: required coefficient of friction (RCOF), stride length (SL), and minimum toe clearance (MTC). Significant effects were found for the floor surface, load versus no load condition, and some interactions involving age (older versus younger subjects). Not all expected differences due to age were found in this experiment. The lack of significant differences between younger and older subjects could be due to the older subjects that participated in the experiment. They were volunteers at a local medical center, were in good physical shape, and were probably not typical of the population of people over 65 years of age. Relevance to industry-Slips and falls in industry are costly safety issues in terms of human suffering as well as financial compensation. In many facilities and at home, people make transitions from one floor surface to another many times each day, while carrying loads or just walking. A better understanding of characteristics of people as they walk on slippery floor surfaces and the changes that might occur with age, will allow engineers to design better floor surfaces to reduce the incidence of slips and falls.
Safety Science, 2019
Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) pose a significant financial burden to employers and account for over 33% of the total nonfatal workers' compensation cost in the United States. Previous analyses documenting the burden of STF incidents in the mining industry have focused on occupational fatalities or STFs during equipment ingress, egress. There is limited information on the burden of nonfatal STF incidents in the mining industry and most of it is outdated. Hence, to increase awareness and highlight the importance of STFs in the mining industry, this analysis documents the burden associated with nonfatal STF incidents at surface stone, sand, and gravel (SSG) mines from 2008 through 2017. In this time frame, nonfatal STF incidents occurred at a rate of 62 per 10,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees per year. Pits had a higher prevalence of injuries, but plants had a higher incidence rate. In addition, nonfatal STF incidents at surface SSG mines led to approximately 23,800 total days lost per year with an estimated cost to the mining industry of 17.5millionperyear.AssessedviolationsthatarenotrelatedtoreportedinjuriesbutarerelatedtoSTFhazardsidentifiedduringMineSafetyandHealthAdministration(MSHA)inspectionscosttheminingindustryapproximately17.5 million per year. Assessed violations that are not related to reported injuries but are related to STF hazards identified during Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspections cost the mining industry approximately 17.5millionperyear.AssessedviolationsthatarenotrelatedtoreportedinjuriesbutarerelatedtoSTFhazardsidentifiedduringMineSafetyandHealthAdministration(MSHA)inspectionscosttheminingindustryapproximately3 million per year from 2013 through 2017. Based on the data analyzed in this study, falls to the lower level pose a higher burden in terms of cost; however, falls to the same level have a higher number of incidents and incidence rate.
Differences between Gait on Stairs and Flat Surfaces in Relation to Fall Risk and Future Falls
IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics, 2017
We used body-worn inertial sensors to quantify differences in semi-free-living gait between stairs and on normal flat ground in older adults, and investigated the utility of assessing gait on these terrains for predicting the occurrence of multiple falls. 82 community-dwelling older adults wore two inertial sensors, on the lower back and the right ankle, during several bouts of walking on flat surfaces and up and down stairs, in between rests and activities of daily living. Derived from the vertical acceleration at the lower back, step rate was calculated from the signal's fundamental frequency. Step rate variability was the width of this fundamental frequency peak from the signal's power spectral density. Movement vigor was calculated at both body locations from the signal variance. Partial Spearman correlations between gait parameters and physiological fall risk factors (components from the Physiological Profile Assessment) were calculated while controlling for age and gen...
State of science: occupational slips, trips and falls on the same level
Ergonomics, 2016
Occupational slips, trips and falls on the same level (STFL) result in substantial injuries worldwide. This paper summarises the state of science regarding STFL, outlining relevant aspects of epidemiology, biomechanics, psychophysics, tribology, organisational influences and injury prevention. This review reaffirms that STFL remain a major cause of workplace injury and STFL prevention is a complex problem, requiring multidisciplinary , multi-faceted approaches. Despite progress in recent decades in understanding the mechanisms involved in STFL, especially slipping, research leading to evidence-based prevention practices remains insufficient, given the problem scale. It is concluded that there is a pressing need to develop better fall prevention strategies using systems approaches conceptualising and addressing the factors involved in STFL, with considerations of the full range of factors and their interactions. There is also an urgent need for field trials of various fall prevention strategies to assess the effectiveness of different intervention components and their interactions.
Minimum foot clearance during walking: Strategies for the minimisation of trip-related falls
Gait & Posture, 2007
This paper models minimum foot clearance (MFC) data during steady-state gait to investigate how the various descriptive statistics of the MFC distribution differ in healthy young and elderly females. A minimum of 20 min of treadmill walking was analysed for 17 young and 16 elderly females using a Peak Motus motion analysis system. The results indicated that none of the 33 participants' MFC data sets were Normally distributed. The deviation from a Normal distribution was systematic (always skewness > 0 and kurtosis > 0). Skewness and kurtosis in MFC data was highly correlated (young: r = 0.60, p = 0.01; elderly: r = 0.95, p < 0.01). MFC descriptive statistics provide useful information about basic strategies used by individuals to minimize the likelihood of tripping. Possible strategies to minimize tripping include: (a) increasing MFC height central tendency, (b) reducing MFC variability, and/or (c) increasing right skewness. A low median MFC was often associated with a low IQR or high skewness to compensate. Further research is required to establish how, or if at all, these strategies are modified in populations that are more at risk of falling. #
Journal of Biomechanics, 2000
The purpose of the present study was to induce slips in healthy subjects as a means to determine if recovery from an induced slip is possible under conditions in which the displacements and velocities of the slipping foot exceed the generally accepted limits of 10 cm and 50 cm/s, respectively, and to determine if there are gait-related variables that predispose an individual to falling after a slip. Thirty-three young and barefoot adults, protected by an instrumented safety harness, were subjected to a single slipping trial following a series of unperturbed walking trials. The slip was induced when the bare foot contacted a vinyl sheet coated with mineral oil. Lower extremity kinematics were acquired using a video-based motion capture system. Fourteen and 12 subjects could be unambiguously categorized as having fallen or recovered, respectively. Four variables demonstrated signi"cant between-group di!erences and two were used to compute the probability of the slip outcome using logistic regression. The variables were the displacement of the foot during the slip and the angle of the shank relative to the ground at the instant of ground contact just prior to the slip. Separate univariate logistic regressions using each variable were signi"cant and correctly classi"ed about 70% of the slip outcomes. The results demonstrated that previously published values for the displacement and velocity of the slipping foot, 10 cm and 50 cm/s, respectively, may not accurately represent the upper limits beyond which recovery is not possible. The results also demonstrated that heel-strike angle, re#ective of stride length, exerts a signi"cant in#uence on the outcome of a slip.
Changes of Gait Pattern on Slippery Walking Surfaces in Simulated Construction Worksite Environments
This study aimed to investigate the gait pattern when walking on potential slippery surfaces. Twelve male subjects performed level walking at their natural cadence and without slips under sixteen simulated construction site walkway conditions with different floorings, contaminants and footwear. Gait pattern parameters were collected by video cameras and were analyzed by motion analysis system (APAS). Dynamic coefficients of friction (DCOF) of the walkway conditions were determined in a mechanical slip resistant test. Significant correlations were found with the DCOF for stance, swing and stride time. Significant increase in stance time, swing time and stride time, decrease in stride length and heel velocity at contact, and slower mean propagation speed were found when slippery potential increased. Further study is suggested to provide a more comprehensive explanation of human adaptation to slippery walking surface which helps proposing occupational safety in worksite. INTRODUCTION: ...
Effects of age-related gait changes on the biomechanics of slips and falls
2003
A laboratory study was conducted to examine gait changes associated with aging and the effect of these changes on initiation of slips and frequency of falls utilizing newly defined biomechanical parameters of slips and falls. Twenty-eight participants from two age groups (young and old) walked around a circular track at a comfortable pace wearing a safety harness. A slippery floor surface was placed on the walking track over the force plate at random time intervals without the participants' awareness. Synchronized kinetic and kinematic measurements were obtained on both slippery and non-slippery walking surfaces. The results indicated that older participants' horizontal heel contact velocity was significantly faster, step length was significantly shorter, and transitional acceleration of the whole body centre-of-mass (COM) was significantly slower than younger participants. Older participants' initial friction demand, as measured by required coefficient of friction (RCOF), was not significantly different than their younger counterparts. Additionally, older participants slipped longer and faster, and fell more often than younger participants. A comparison of horizontal heel contact velocity for participants who fell with participants who did not fall indicated that, in general, fallers' horizontal heel contact velocity was faster than non-fallers. However, a comparison of RCOF for participants who fell with participants who did not fall suggested that RCOF was not a totally deterministic factor influencing actual fall events. These findings suggest that gait changes associated with aging (especially higher horizontal heel contact velocity and slower transition of the whole body COM) affect initiation of slip-induced falls.