Biomechanics of Human Reactions to Slip Events

描述(由申请人提供)：滑倒和跌倒事故 被认为在职业健康方面具有重要意义。流行病学 研究报告称，这个问题在年龄较大的工人中更为严重， 尤其是女工。鉴于劳动力老龄化的动态， 这项拟议研究的长期目标旨在减少 老年人因滑倒而跌倒。具体目标是1) 研究与恢复反应相关的步态生物力学差异 在年轻人/老年人和男性/女性之间的不安之后 和2)检查滑面警告对滑落可能性的影响 以及恢复反应的生物力学。60个科目平均除以 性别和分为两个年龄段将在本研究中招募：“年轻”之间 年龄在20岁和35岁之间，年龄在55岁到70岁之间。每个科目 将被要求在干燥和肥皂的乙烯基砖地板上行走，同时改变 地板污染状况的先验知识程度 (意外的湿滑表面，警告可能的湿滑条件， 受试者意识到湿滑的情况)。各种运动学和运动学 步态变量将从地面反作用力和3D身体导出 以150赫兹记录的运动数据。这些运动学和运动学变量将是 在步态过程中的特定时间进行评估，并用作因变量 调查性别、年龄和警示安全状况的ANOVA。总而言之， 这项拟议的研究将使我们更好地了解 流行病学研究结果表明，滑倒引发的发病率增加 跌倒在老年人中。通过了解造成这种情况的生物力学原因 报道称，这项研究的结果将直接影响到i) 制定更有效的跌倒预防和训练方案，旨在 提高老年人从滑倒中恢复的机会和2)可能的 落实安全警示指引。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Slips and falls accidents have been recognized to be of major importance in occupational health. Epidemiological studies have reported this problem being even more serious among older workers, especially female workers. In light of the aging dynamics of the labor force, the long term goal of this proposed study is directed at reducing slip-precipitated falls among older adults. The specific aims are 1) investigate the differences in gait biomechanics relevant to recovery responses following a slipping perturbation between young/older and male/female adults and 2) examine the effect of slippery surfaces warnings on slip-fall potential and biomechanics of recovery responses. Sixty subjects equally divided by gender and into two age groups will be recruited in this study: "young" between the ages of 20 and 35 years and "older" aged 55 to 70 years old. Each subject will be asked to walk on dry and soapy vinyl tile floors, while varying the extent of the a-priori knowledge of the floor's contaminant condition (unexpected slippery surfaces, warning of possible slippery conditions, the subject is aware of the slippery condition). Various kinetic and kinematics gait variables will be derived from the ground reaction forces and 3D body motion data recorded at 150 Hz. Those kinetic and kinematics variables will be evaluated at specific times during gait and used as dependent variables in ANOVAs investigating gender, age and warning safety conditions. In summary, this proposed study will provide a better understanding of the reasons for epidemiological findings suggesting increasing incidence of slip-initiated falls among older adults. By understanding the biornechanical reasons for such reports, the results of this study will have direct implications in I) the development of more effective fall prevention and training programs aimed at improving chances of recovery from slips among older adults and 2) the possible implementation of safety warning guidelines.