Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study
Abstract Background Falls are commonplace among elderly people. It is urgent to prevent falls. Previous studies have confirmed that there is a difference in plantar pressure between falls and non‐falls in elderly people, but the relationship between fall risk and foot pressure has not been studied....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Foot and Ankle Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-023-00612-4 |
| _version_ | 1827356255870517248 |
|---|---|
| author | Yifeng Yan Jianlin Ou Hanxue Shi Chenming Sun Longbin Shen Zhen Song Lin Shu Zhuoming Chen |
| author_facet | Yifeng Yan Jianlin Ou Hanxue Shi Chenming Sun Longbin Shen Zhen Song Lin Shu Zhuoming Chen |
| author_sort | Yifeng Yan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Falls are commonplace among elderly people. It is urgent to prevent falls. Previous studies have confirmed that there is a difference in plantar pressure between falls and non‐falls in elderly people, but the relationship between fall risk and foot pressure has not been studied. In this study, the differences in dynamic plantar pressure between elderly people with high and low fall risk were preliminarily discussed, and the characteristic parameters of plantar pressure were determined. Methods Twenty four high‐fall‐risk elderly individuals (HR) and 24 low‐fall‐risk elderly individuals (LR) were selected using the Berg Balance Scale 40 score. They wore wearable foot pressure devices to walk along a 20‐m‐long corridor. The peak pressure (PP), pressure time integral (PTI), pressure gradient (maximum pressure gradient (MaxPG), minimum pressure gradient (MinPG), full width at half maximum (FWHM)) and average pressure (AP) of their feet were measured for inter‐group and intra‐group analysis. Results The foot pressure difference comparing the high fall risk with low fall risk groups was manifested in PP and MaxPG, concentrated in the midfoot and heel (p < 0.05), while the only time parameter, FWHM, was manifested in the whole foot (p < 0.05). The differences between the left and right foot were reflected in all parameters. The differences between the left and right foot in LR were mainly reflected in the heel (p < 0.05), while it in the HR was mainly reflected in the forefoot (p < 0.05). Conclusions The differences comparing the high fall risk with low fall risk groups were mostly reflected in the midfoot and heel. The HR may have been more cautious when landing. In the intra‐group comparison, the difference between the right and left foot of the LR was mainly reflected during heel striking, while it was mainly reflected during pedalling in the HR. The sensitivity of PP, PTI and AP was lower and the newly introduced pressure gradient could better reflect the difference in foot pressure between the two groups. The pressure gradient can be used as a new foot pressure parameter in scientific research. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:57:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1639eea7bfa841dfae74915d0056b978 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1757-1146 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:57:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Foot and Ankle Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-1639eea7bfa841dfae74915d0056b9782024-02-07T15:05:46ZengWileyJournal of Foot and Ankle Research1757-11462023-01-01161n/an/a10.1186/s13047-023-00612-4Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional studyYifeng Yan0Jianlin Ou1Hanxue Shi2Chenming Sun3Longbin Shen4Zhen Song5Lin Shu6Zhuoming Chen7Department of Rehabilitation MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan UniversityGuangzhouChinaDepartment of Rehabilitation MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan UniversityGuangzhouChinaSchool of Future TechnologySouth China University of TechnologyGuangzhouChinaDepartment of Rehabilitation MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan UniversityGuangzhouChinaDepartment of Rehabilitation MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan UniversityGuangzhouChinaSchool of Future TechnologySouth China University of TechnologyGuangzhouChinaSchool of Future TechnologySouth China University of TechnologyGuangzhouChinaDepartment of Rehabilitation MedicineThe First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan UniversityGuangzhouChinaAbstract Background Falls are commonplace among elderly people. It is urgent to prevent falls. Previous studies have confirmed that there is a difference in plantar pressure between falls and non‐falls in elderly people, but the relationship between fall risk and foot pressure has not been studied. In this study, the differences in dynamic plantar pressure between elderly people with high and low fall risk were preliminarily discussed, and the characteristic parameters of plantar pressure were determined. Methods Twenty four high‐fall‐risk elderly individuals (HR) and 24 low‐fall‐risk elderly individuals (LR) were selected using the Berg Balance Scale 40 score. They wore wearable foot pressure devices to walk along a 20‐m‐long corridor. The peak pressure (PP), pressure time integral (PTI), pressure gradient (maximum pressure gradient (MaxPG), minimum pressure gradient (MinPG), full width at half maximum (FWHM)) and average pressure (AP) of their feet were measured for inter‐group and intra‐group analysis. Results The foot pressure difference comparing the high fall risk with low fall risk groups was manifested in PP and MaxPG, concentrated in the midfoot and heel (p < 0.05), while the only time parameter, FWHM, was manifested in the whole foot (p < 0.05). The differences between the left and right foot were reflected in all parameters. The differences between the left and right foot in LR were mainly reflected in the heel (p < 0.05), while it in the HR was mainly reflected in the forefoot (p < 0.05). Conclusions The differences comparing the high fall risk with low fall risk groups were mostly reflected in the midfoot and heel. The HR may have been more cautious when landing. In the intra‐group comparison, the difference between the right and left foot of the LR was mainly reflected during heel striking, while it was mainly reflected during pedalling in the HR. The sensitivity of PP, PTI and AP was lower and the newly introduced pressure gradient could better reflect the difference in foot pressure between the two groups. The pressure gradient can be used as a new foot pressure parameter in scientific research.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-023-00612-4Fall riskElderly peoplePlantar pressure |
| spellingShingle | Yifeng Yan Jianlin Ou Hanxue Shi Chenming Sun Longbin Shen Zhen Song Lin Shu Zhuoming Chen Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study Journal of Foot and Ankle Research Fall risk Elderly people Plantar pressure |
| title | Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study |
| title_full | Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study |
| title_short | Plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals: a cross‐sectional study |
| title_sort | plantar pressure and falling risk in older individuals a cross sectional study |
| topic | Fall risk Elderly people Plantar pressure |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13047-023-00612-4 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT yifengyan plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT jianlinou plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT hanxueshi plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT chenmingsun plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT longbinshen plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT zhensong plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT linshu plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy AT zhuomingchen plantarpressureandfallingriskinolderindividualsacrosssectionalstudy |