Ground reaction forces during stair locomotion in pregnant fallers and non-fallers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chambers AJ ; Daftary A ; McCrory JL ; Redfern MS
• Description:
  BACKGROUND: More than 27% of pregnant women fall. Approximately 40% of falls occur during staircase locomotion. The purpose of this study was to examine ground reaction forces in pregnant fallers, pregnant non-fallers, and non-pregnant controls to determine if pregnant fallers display alterations to ground reaction forces that increase their risk of falling on stairs. METHODS: Fifteen pregnant fallers and 14 pregnant non-fallers participated during their second and third trimesters. Forty non-pregnant women served as controls. Subjects ascended and descended a four-step staircase. A force plate in the second stair collected ground reaction forces. Ascent and descent velocities were assessed. In the statistics, group (pregnant faller, pregnant non-faller, control) and subject were independent variables. Stance time and ascent/descent velocity were analyzed with an ANOVA. Mediolateral center of pressure excursion was analyzed with an analysis of covariance. Ground reaction forces were categorized into anterioposterior, mediolateral, and vertical forces and normalized to the subject's bodyweight. A multivariate analysis of covariance was used to compare between groups and subjects for each force category, with velocity as the covariate (a = 0.05). FINDINGS: Pregnant fallers had an increased anterioposterior braking impulse (P < 0.01), medial impulse (P = 0.02), and minimum between vertical peaks (P = <0.01) during ascent. During descent, pregnant fallers demonstrated a smaller anterioposterior propulsive peak and propulsive impulse (P = 0.03) and a greater minimum between vertical peaks (P<0.01). INTERPRETATION: These alterations are likely related to a strategy used by pregnant fallers to increase stability during staircase locomotion. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Biomechanical Phenomena Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Pregnancy Safety Women
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Stairs Biomechanics Body Distribution Body Mechanics Center Of Pressure Falls Ground Reaction Forces Motion Studies Posture
• ISSN:
  0268-0033
• 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
• Pages in Document:
  143-148
• Volume:
  29
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044408
• Citation:
  Clin Biomech 2014 Feb; 29(2):143-148
• 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:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pittsburgh
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Clinical Biomechanics
• End Date:
  20081231
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:47376347220c8894831c70c8fd566a2b70ee1e883b42bfb76671d7954cf68d8780f7a6e9894edfe7595ba13e35160957df93e80c1dc63d51d2fc4b9c3f985861
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200115/cdc_200115_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 299.31 KB ]