Article

Thirty-five percent of people above age 65 fall each year, and half of their
falls are associated with tripping: tripping, an apparently 'mundane' everyday
problem, therefore, significantly impacts on older people's health and associated
medical costs. To avoid tripping and subsequent falling, sufficient toe clearance
during the swing phase is crucial. We previously found that a rocker-shaped shoe
sole enhances toe clearance in young adults, thereby decreasing their trip-risk.
This study investigates whether such sole design also enhances older adults' toe
clearance, without inadvertently affecting their walking stability. Toe clearance
and its variability are reported together with measures of walking stability for
twelve older adults, walking in shoes with rocker angles of 10 degrees , 15
degrees , and 20 degrees . Surface inclinations (flat, incline, decline) were
chosen to reflect a potential real-world environment. Toe clearance increased
substantially from the 10 degrees to the 15 degrees rocker angle (p=0.003)
without compromising measures of walking stability (p>0.05). A further increase
in rocker angle to 20 degrees resulted in less substantial enhancement of toe
clearance and came at the cost of a decrease in gait speed on the decline. The
novelty of this investigation lies in the exploration of the trade-off between
reduction of trip-risk through footwear design and adverse effects on walking
stability on real-life relevant surfaces. Our two studies suggest that the
current focus on slip-resistance in footwear design may need to be generalised to
include other factors that affect trip-risk.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS