5 research outputs found
Task-specific training reduces trip-related fall risk in women
Purpose: The potential of task-specific training as a fall-prevention intervention was studied.
The primary purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which a task-specific training
protocol decreased the number of falls by middle age and older women following a laboratoryinduced
trip. Secondary purposes were to explore the ability of trunk kinematics during the
initial recovery step and the length of the initial recovery step to correctly classify the trip
outcome, and to quantify the extent to which the training protocol affected these variables.
Methods: Healthy community dwelling women (n=52) were assigned to either a training group
or control group that received no training. Training group women participated in an individually
tailored, task-specific training protocol during which forward-directed stepping responses were
necessary to avoid a fall following treadmill-delivered postural disturbances. Following the
protocol, the ability to avoid a fall following a laboratory-induced trip was assessed. The
primary outcome variable was the success (recover) or failure (fall) of the post-trip stepping
response.
Results: Compared to the control group, there were fewer falls by the trained women following
the laboratory-induced trip (p<0.001; odds ratio = 0.13). Using logistic regression, falls and
recoveries following the trip were sensitively classified by trunk flexion angle at the completion
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of the initial recovery step and the length of the initial recovery step (sensitivity = 0.67,
specificity =0.98), the former of which improved as a result of the task-specific training protocol.
Conclusions: The task-specific training protocol significantly reduced the number of falls
following a laboratory-induced trip. Prospective study is required to determine if this taskspecific
training reduces falls in the community and, consequently, may complement currently
used exercise-based fall prevention intervention methods