Biomechanical analysis of the cause and prevention of fall-related injuries

跌倒损伤原因及预防的生物力学分析

• 批准号: 239735-2011
• 负责人: Robinovitch, Stephen
• 金额: $ 1.68万
• 依托单位: Simon Fraser University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2011-01-01 至 2012-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=479154
• 关键词: Biomechanical; analysis; cause; prevention; fall

Falls are the number one cause of injuries and injury-related deaths in older adults, and biomechanics research is essential for the development of improved strategies to prevent these injuries. Any fall from standing height possesses sufficient energy to fracture the hip or cause a debilitating head injury, and the effectiveness of "safe landing" responses is the most common factor separating benign from catastrophic falls. With aging, these intrinsic responses may fail, and wearable protective gear (or compliant flooring) may be life-saving. Our research addresses the need for improved research in these areas. During the past period the support, we developed "real-life" laboratories in two long-term care facilities in the Vancouver area, which support the ongoing development of a library of video recordings of real-life falls in older adults, and serve as test beds for the development and evaluation of our interventions. The work proposed in this NSERC Discovery Grant renewal pursues new and important complementary lines of enquiry, by addressing the following specific aims: (1) To test the hypothesis that there are differences in the mechanics of falls between young and older adults, including the protective responses that arise during fall initiation and descent, and the configuration and velocity of the body segments at impact; (2) To test the hypothesis that the mechanics of falls in young adults associate with contextual variables (training, pre-planning, and utilization of specific fall arrest strategies); and (3) To test the hypothesis that the biomechanical effectiveness of hip protectors, and user compliance in wearing these devices, depends on pad geometry and material properties. Our work under Aims 1 and 2 involves the first analysis and comparison of fall mechanics in young and older adults, and should identify new and important opportunities for fall injury prevention. Our work on hip protector design (Aim 3) should guide improved product development and marketing, by identifying produce characteristics which optimize biomechanical performance and public utilization of this technology.

福尔斯是老年人受伤和受伤相关死亡的头号原因，生物力学研究对于制定预防这些伤害的改进策略至关重要。任何从站立高度坠落都有足够的能量使髋部骨折或导致虚弱的头部损伤，而“安全着陆”反应的有效性是区分良性和灾难性福尔斯坠落的最常见因素。随着年龄的增长，这些内在的反应可能会失败，而可穿戴的保护装备（或顺应性地板）可能会挽救生命。我们的研究解决了在这些领域改进研究的需要。在过去的支持期间，我们在温哥华地区的两个长期护理设施中开发了“现实生活”实验室，这些实验室支持正在进行的老年人真实福尔斯跌倒视频记录库的开发，并作为开发和评估我们干预措施的试验台。在NSERC的发现资助更新中提出的工作通过解决以下具体目标来追求新的和重要的补充调查路线：（1）测试年轻人和老年人之间的福尔斯力学差异的假设，包括在跌倒开始和下降过程中产生的保护性反应，以及碰撞时身体部分的配置和速度;（2）检验以下假设：年轻人的福尔斯力学与情境变量（培训、预先计划和使用特定的防跌倒策略）相关;以及（3）检验以下假设：髋关节保护器的生物力学有效性和用户佩戴这些器械的依从性取决于衬垫几何形状和材料特性。我们在目标1和2下的工作涉及对年轻人和老年人跌倒力学的首次分析和比较，并应确定预防跌倒损伤的新的重要机会。我们在髋关节保护器设计方面的工作（目标3）应通过识别优化生物力学性能和该技术的公众利用的产品特征来指导改进的产品开发和营销。