TY  - JOUR
A1  - da Silva Costa, Andreia Abud
A1  - Hortobagyi, Tibor
A1  - den Otter, Rob
A1  - Sawers, Andrew
A1  - Moraes, Renato
T1  - Beam width and arm position but not cognitive task affect walking balance in older adults
JF  - Scientific reports
N2  - Detection of changes in dynamic balance could help identify older adults at fall risk. Walking on a narrow beam with its width, cognitive load, and arm position manipulated could be an alternative to current tests. Therefore, we examined additive and interactive effects of beam width, cognitive task (CT), and arm position on dynamic balance during beam walking in older adults. Twenty older adults (69 +/- 4y) walked on 6, 8, and 10-cm wide beams (2-cm high, 4-m-long), with and without CT, with three arm positions (free, crossed, akimbo). We determined cognitive errors, distance walked, step speed, root mean square (RMS) of center of mass (COM) displacement and trunk acceleration in the frontal plane. Beam width decrease progressively reduced distance walked and increased trunk acceleration RMS. Step speed decreased on the narrowest beam and with CT. Arm crossing decreased distance walked and step speed. COM displacement RMS and cognitive errors were not affected by any manipulation. In conclusion, distance walked indicated that beam width and arm position, but less so CT, affected dynamic balance, implying that beam walking has the potential to become a test of fall risk. Stability measurements suggested effective trunk adjustments to control COM position and keep dynamic balance during the task.
Y1  - 2022
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10848-y
SN  - 2045-2322
VL  - 12
IS  - 1
PB  - Nature Research
CY  - London
ER  -