Development of a New Assessment Tool to Predict Fall Risk:

Abstract

This study investigated that the characteristics of temporal error of actual and imaged walking using three types of walkway with different widths and motor-cognitive functions between fall and non-fall groups in community-dwelling older adults. Fall history, temporal error (width-50, 25, 15cm)， hand grip strength, quadriceps strength, toe-grip strength, CS-30, 5-m fastest walking time, TUG, one-leg standing time, MMSE were measured. Based on the history of falls, the subjects were divided into fall and non-fall groups, and the measurement items were compared. Results showed that imaged walking time (width-25, 15cm) and temporal error (width-15cm) in fall group were significantly higher than those in non-fall group. Actual walking time (width-50, 25, 15cm)， imaged walking time (width-50cm)， temporal error (width-50, 25cm)， hand grip strength, quadriceps strength, toe-grip strength, CS-30, 5-m fastest walking time, TUG, one-leg standing time, MMSE were not observed significant difference between two groups. This study suggests that temporal error of actual and imaged walking using walkway with varying difficulty level is useful as a fall risk assessment tool in community-dwelling older adults.