Effects of a single-session stance-slip perturbation training program on reducing risk of slip-related falls

A passive leg-support exoskeleton adversely affects reactive balance after simulated slips and trips on a treadmill

“…Second, simulated slips and trips on a treadmill were utilized to provide greater experimental control than slipping or tripping while walking over ground. The similarity between these simulated slips/trips and actual slips/trips while walking over ground is supported by studies showing that repeated exposure to the former can improve reactive balance after the latter (Bieryla et al, 2007;Dusane et al, 2019;Owings et al, 2001;Yang et al, 2018). Third, we did not use a tripping obstacle, and the need to step initially over a trip obstacle may exacerbate the adverse effects of the EXO.…”

“…Stance-slip and stance-trip perturbations were used to simulate slipping and tripping as in prior work (e.g., (Bieryla et al, 2007;Dusane et al, 2019;Owings et al, 2001;Yang et al, 2018).…”

Can treadmill-slip perturbation training reduce immediate risk of over-ground-slip induced fall among community-dwelling older adults?

“…Thus, a commercially available treadmill could be an option for clinical translation because treadmills are designed to deliver similar over-ground-slip-like perturbations which induce a backward recovery step . Several studies have applied instrumented treadmills to deliver external postural disturbances during standing, and these reported an improvement in dynamic reactive balance control (Patel & Bhatt, 2015;Patel & Bhatt, 2018;Yang et al, 2018). Yet, a single treadmill-stance-slip perturbation training session with eight slips indicated an insufficient generalization effect to reduce over-ground-slip induced falls (Yang et al, 2018).…”

“…Several studies have applied instrumented treadmills to deliver external postural disturbances during standing, and these reported an improvement in dynamic reactive balance control (Patel & Bhatt, 2015;Patel & Bhatt, 2018;Yang et al, 2018). Yet, a single treadmill-stance-slip perturbation training session with eight slips indicated an insufficient generalization effect to reduce over-ground-slip induced falls (Yang et al, 2018). It is speculated that recovery from a stance-slip may differ from a gait-slip.…”