Individual, task, and environmental influences on balance recovery: a narrative review of the literature and implications for preventing occupational falls

Komisar, Vicki; McIlroy, William E.; Duncan, Carolyn A.

doi:10.1080/24725838.2019.1634160

Cited by 13 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 175 publications

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“…In the field of fall prevention, it is still unsolved how the support offered by an assistive device enhances individual movement stability and reduces the risk of falling ( Komisar et al, 2019 ). This is even more important as recent studies have indicated the usage of assistive devices as a fall risk for older individuals ( Hefflin et al, 2004 ; Deandrea et al, 2010 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, such alterations of posture might well reduce the body’s capacity to compensate for situations that lead to falls, with a sub-optimal positioning of the person relative to the rollator, dependency on fatiguing arm muscles, and over time, a potential prolonged lower limb unloading that could deteriorate lower limb weakness ( Costamagna et al, 2019 ). However, individuals who use the assistive device as a balance aid only can have enhanced movement stability compared to individuals who fully lean on the assistive device by providing spatial information to the central nervous system by touching the handles ( Jeka et al, 1996 ; Jeka 1997 ; Dickstein et al, 2003 ; Martinelli et al, 2015 ; Costamagna et al, 2019 ; Komisar et al, 2019 ; Oates et al, 2020 ). Therefore, it remains unclear how to optimally use a rollator for optimal movement stability and loading support.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Young Individuals Are More Stable and Stand More Upright When Using Rollator Assistance During Standing up and Sitting Down

Krafft

Herzog

Stein

et al. 2022

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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Four-wheeled walkers or rollators are often used to assist older individuals in maintaining an independent life by compensating for muscle weakness and reduced movement stability. However, limited biomechanical studies have been performed to understand how rollator support affects posture and stability, especially when standing up and sitting down. Therefore, this study examined how stability and posture change with varying levels of rollator support and on an unstable floor. The aim was to collect comprehensive baseline data during standing up and sitting down in young participants. In this study, 20 able-bodied, young participants stood up and sat down both 1) unassisted and assisted using a custom-made robot rollator simulator under 2) full support and 3) touch support. Unassisted and assisted performances were analyzed on normal and unstable floors using balance pads with a compliant surface under each foot. Using 3D motion capturing and two ground-embedded force plates, we compared assistive support and floor conditions for movement duration, the relative timing of seat-off, movement stability (center of pressure (COP) path length and sway area), and posture after standing up (lower body sagittal joint angles) using ANOVA analysis. The relative event of seat-off was earliest under full support compared to touch and unassisted conditions under normal but not under unstable floor conditions. The duration of standing up and sitting down did not differ between support conditions on normal or unstable floors. COP path length and sway area during both standing up and sitting down were lowest under full support regardless of both floor conditions. Hip and knee joints were least flexed under full support, with no differences between touch and unassisted in both floor conditions. Hence, full rollator support led to increased movement stability, while not slowing down the movement, during both standing up and sitting down. During standing up, the full support led to an earlier seat-off and a more upright standing posture when reaching a stable stance. These results indicate that rollator support when handles are correctly aligned does not lead to the detrimental movement alterations of increased forward-leaning. Future research aims to verify these findings in older persons with stability and muscle weakness deficiencies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young Individuals Are More Stable and Stand More Upright When Using Rollator Assistance During Standing up and Sitting Down

Krafft

Herzog

Stein

et al. 2022

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, occupational falls can be greatly reduced or prevented by aiding balance recovery through the design of footwear (to prevent falls on slippery floats), walkway handrails (to prevent falls in the water), and other aspects of task design. 87 The design interventions must be contextual and address the risk factors in a manner that ensures a comfortable and safe work environment since every injury or accident comes at a high price for all stakeholders. Design intervention is an effective way of addressing these issues before the occupational risk factors become uncontrollable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emerging OSH Issues in Installation and Maintenance of Floating Solar Photovoltaic Projects and Their Link with Sustainable Development Goals

Sen

Mohankar

Khamaj

et al. 2021

RMHP

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Emerging issues of occupational safety and health (OSH) in floating solar photovoltaic projects (FSPV) have rarely been addressed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current scoping review has been planned to demonstrate OSH issues experienced by the workers engaged in the installation and maintenance of FSPV projects and existing ergonomics design interventions in the solar photovoltaic industry with a focus on the FSPV sector. Methods: A literature review was conducted from four major electronic databases (Science Direct, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Scopus) using predefined keywords and following the PRISMA framework for the period 1965-2020. A total of 49 studies under five headings, namely a) overview of key reasons for the emergence of floating solar photovoltaic projects, b) occupational risks of workers engaged in the solar PV industry/FSPV sector, c) occupational risks in workplaces/occupations similar to floating solar photovoltaics projects, d) availability of training modules and occupational standards, and e) design interventions/approaches in the solar PV industry/floating photovoltaics sector were analyzed. Results: It emerged that workers are exposed to multifarious occupational risk factors such as heat, solar radiation, ergonomic risks, electrocution, fire, hazardous substances, adverse weather conditions, and psychosocial factors. These risks have not been adequately addressed with required interventions in the FSPV sector. Intervention opportunities include designing innovative tools, lowering of loads, redesigning workplace layouts, introducing job aids, automation, task rotation, job enlargement, design of training modules, OSH standards and changes in work organization/shift, etc. Conclusion:This review is a first-of-its-kind effort to highlight the contextual risk factors in the emerging FSPV sector and the need for addressing them through ergonomics design interventions for successfully achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

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“…Rubenstein[ 39 ] viewed that older adults were stiffer and less coordinated compared to young adults and hence would have impaired ability to arrest a fall in response to an unexpected trip or slip. Older adults with existing comorbidities are known to have poorer balance recovery abilities, risking a higher incidence of falls[ 40 ]. Nascent skill-specific rehabilitation interventions (e.g.…”

Section: Current Rehabilitation Practices For Falls Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Falls efficacy: Extending the understanding of self-efficacy in older adults towards managing falls

Soh¹,

Tan²,

Thomas³

et al. 2021

JFSF

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Falls efficacy is a widely studied construct. The understanding of falls efficacy has evolved over time. Falls efficacy was initially perceived to be suitably used as a measure of fear of falling. However, further research suggested that falls efficacy and fear of falling are distinct constructs, and therefore, would be inappropriate to be used as a proxy. Instead, some researchers posited that falls efficacy is synonymous with balance confidence. Falls efficacy has been conventionally understood as the perceived ability of individuals to perform activities without losing balance or falling. A recently conducted systematic review by the authors on existing falls efficacy related measures had revealed a fresh perspective of recognising falls efficacy as a perceived ability to manage a threat of a fall. Falls efficacy, with a broadened interpreted construct, relates to the individual’s perceived self-efficacy of performing necessary actions needed in different scenarios, including pre-fall, near-fall, fall-landing and completed fall. The conventional interpretation of falls efficacy needs a rethinking of perspective. An extended understanding of falls efficacy would provide an integral approach towards improving the agency of individual to deal with falls and would enhance person-centred care.

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Individual, task, and environmental influences on balance recovery: a narrative review of the literature and implications for preventing occupational falls

Cited by 13 publications

References 175 publications

Young Individuals Are More Stable and Stand More Upright When Using Rollator Assistance During Standing up and Sitting Down

Young Individuals Are More Stable and Stand More Upright When Using Rollator Assistance During Standing up and Sitting Down

Emerging OSH Issues in Installation and Maintenance of Floating Solar Photovoltaic Projects and Their Link with Sustainable Development Goals

Falls efficacy: Extending the understanding of self-efficacy in older adults towards managing falls

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