Impact of Joint Torques on Heel Acceleration at Heel Contact, a Contributor to Slips and Falls

Details

• Personal Author:
  Beschorner K ; Cham R
• Description:
  Slips/falls are a health burden in the workplace. Previous research has implied a relationship between foot dynamics at heel contact and slips/falls; however, heel acceleration has received little attention. Heel acceleration as the heel contacts the ground is the result of the combined effort of the leg joint torques to control motion of the foot. This study aims to examine the association of heel acceleration with fall risk, and explore the main joint torque determinant of heel acceleration at contact. Sixteen young and eleven older adults walked on known dry floors and in slippery environments expected to be dry. Heel acceleration at heel contact in the direction of motion, i.e. anterior/posterior, was compared between slip-recovery and slip-fall outcomes. Results showed that subjects that recovered contacted the floor with a greater heel deceleration (p < 0.05) than fall subjects. Knee torque alone explained 76% of the heel acceleration variability (p < 0.01). These data suggest that walking with reduced knee flexion torque at heel contact results in a reduced heel deceleration, a potential risk factor for slip-initiated falls. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Accidents, Occupational Biomechanical Phenomena Environmental Health Ergonomics Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Occupational Injuries Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Author Keywords: Slips Biomechanics Environmental-factors Falls Floors Foot-injuries Gait Heel Dynamics Injuries Joint Torque Knee-injuries Musculoskeletal-system Occupational-accidents Posture Slope-stability Surface-properties Walking-surfaces

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• ISSN:
  0014-0139
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  51
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20035086
• Citation:
  Ergonomics 2008 Dec; 51(12):1799-1813
• Contact Point Address:
  K. Beschorner, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
• Email:
  keb52@pitt.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Work Environment and Workforce: Special Populations ; Mining: Oil and Gas Extraction ; Services: Public Safety
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20020501
• Source Full Name:
  Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20050430
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:db6a949ddd8a6e808f5160c0520885ca306252ca1502d2322f81ba59e9d38fc59a92a693e2431b038ccb36b116f58ce266dfccc998f16e0b63532bd959b85b85
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/187056/cdc_187056_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 653.10 KB ]