Fear of falling is associated with prolonged anticipatory postural adjustment during gait initiation under dual-task conditions in older adults

• Published in: Gait & posture Vol. 35; no. 2; pp. 282 - 286
• Main Authors: Uemura, Kazuki, Yamada, Minoru, Nagai, Koutatsu, Tanaka, Buichi, Mori, Shuhei, Ichihashi, Noriaki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier B.V 01.02.2012
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - prevention & control; Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Adaptation, Physiological; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - physiology; Analysis of Variance; Attention; Cognition - physiology; Cohort Studies; Elderly; Executive function; Fear - psychology; Female; Gait - physiology; Geriatric Assessment; Humans; Independent Living; Lower Extremity - physiology; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Orthopedics; Postural Balance - physiology; Postural control; Range of Motion, Articular - physiology; Reaction Time; Rehabilitation; Risk Assessment; Task Performance and Analysis; Time Factors; Executive function; Rehabilitation; Postural control; Elderly; Attention

► We examined the effect of fear of falling on anticipatory postural adjustment (APA) during gait initiation in older adults. ► Subjects with fear of falling have a significantly longer APA phase under the dual-task condition. ► Specific deficits in balance control may occur in subjects with fear of...