Application of the voluntary step execution test to identify elderly fallers
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1Rehabilitation and Movement Analysis Laboratory in the Leon and Matilda Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Physical Therapy Department, Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University, Israel. itzikm@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
Objectives:
To assess the use of the Voluntary Step Execution Test to identify fallers.
Design:
Cross-sectional retrospective.
Setting:
Two self-care, residential facilities.
Participants:
a total of 100 healthy old volunteers (mean age = 78.4 +/- 5.7).
Measurements:
The study investigated the use of the Voluntary Step Execution Test to identify fallers under single and dual-task conditions. Berg Balance Test (BBS) and Timed Get Up and Go (TUG) were used to assess balance and gait function.
Results:
There were no significant differences found between fallers and non-fallers in BBS and TUG (50.5 +/- 4.6 versus 52.5 +/- 3.4 and 9.4 +/- 3.4 versus 7.98 +/- 2.3 respectively). There were no statistically significant differences between non-fallers and fallers across all step execution parameters under the single-task condition. However, adding cognitive load to the Voluntary Step Execution Test revealed statistically significant increases in duration of the preparatory phase, swing time and the time to foot-contact (P = 0.035;P = 0.033 and P = 0.037, respectively). Based on the coefficients of the logistic regression model participants with dual-task step execution times of > or =1,100 ms had five times the risk of falling than participants with execution times of <1,100 ms.
Conclusions:
The study provides evidence that a simple, safe measure of step execution under dual-task conditions can identify elderly individuals at risk for falls.
