Ground reaction forces during gait in pregnant fallers and non-fallers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chambers AJ ; Daftary A ; McCrory JL ; Redfern MS
• Description:
  Pregnant women are at a high risk of experiencing a fall. To our knowledge, ground reaction forces (GRFs) in pregnant fallers and non-fallers have not been reported. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pregnancy and fall history on GRFs during walking. METHODS: Forty one pregnant subjects in the mid 2nd and 3rd trimesters (pregnant fallers: n=15, pregnant non-fallers: n=14), and 40 control women walked at a freely chosen walking speed along an 8m walkway. A force plate, hidden in the walkway, was used to collect GRFs (1080Hz). Kinematic data (120Hz) were collected from a marker placed on the lumbar spine to estimate walking velocity. GRF variables included mediolateral Center of Pressure (COP) excursion, and GRFs normalized to body mass. A two factor ANOVA (trimester x fall group) was used to compare subject demographics, and walking velocity (a=0.05). A two factor ANCOVA (trimester×fall group, covariate: velocity) was performed to examine other GRF variables (Bonferroni corrected a=0.006) and the mediolateral COP excursion (a=0.05). RESULTS: Walking velocity was greater in the control group (p<0.05). No differences were seen in the GRFs or COP movement between trimesters or between pregnant fallers and non-fallers. CONCLUSIONS: When walking velocity was considered in the statistical model, ground reaction forces are essentially unchanged by pregnancy. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Accidents, Occupational Biomechanical Phenomena Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Pregnancy Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Accident Analysis Author Keywords: Gait Biomechanics Body Mechanics Center Of Pressure Falls Ground Reaction Forces Motion Studies Physiology Posture Walking Walking Surfaces

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• ISSN:
  0966-6362
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  34
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040313
• Citation:
  Gait Posture 2011 Oct; 34(4):524-528
• Contact Point Address:
  Jean L. McCrory, Division of Exercise Physiology, Department of Human Performance and Applied Exercise Science, West Virginia University, 8315 Health Sciences Center - South, PO Box 9227, Morgantown, WV 26506-9227, USA
• Email:
  jmccrory@hsc.wvu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pittsburgh
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Gait and Posture
• End Date:
  20081231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ef59d70b5a0d4f16297b530652c64413df5d38e01a6542021ad69d30e85303daa60c6321fa11cfeb645194cab38dab5cb2657f5cdc05eda4376111049c30f425
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193240/cdc_193240_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 176.03 KB ]