Older Adults with Fear of Falling Show Deficits in Motor Imagery of Gait

Understanding of the underlying mechanisms of Fear of Falling (FoF) could help to expand potential treatments. Given the nature of motor performance, the decline in the planning stage of motor execution may be associated with an expression of FoF. The aim of this study was to assess the planning/prediction accuracy in motor execution in people with FoF using gait-related motor imagery (MI).

Cross-sectional case/control study.

Three health centers in Japan.

Two hundred and eighty-three community-dwelling older adults were recruited and stratified by presence of FoF as FoF group (n=178) or non-FoF group (n=107).

Participants were tested for both imagery and execution tasks of a Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. The participants were first asked to imagine the trial (iTUG) and estimate the time it would take, and then perform the actual trial (aTUG). The difference between iTUG and aTUG (Δ TUG) was calculated.

The FoF group was significantly slower in aTUG, but iTUG duration was almost identical between the two groups, resulting in significant overestimation in the FoF group. The adjusted logistic regression analysis showed that increased Δ TUG (i.e., tendency to overestimate) was significantly associated with FoF (OR = 1.05; 95% CI = 1.02-1.10). Low frequency of going outdoors was also associated with FoF (OR 2.95; 95% CI: 1.16-7.44).

Older adults with FoF overestimate their TUG performance, reflecting impairment in motor planning. Overestimation of physical capabilities can be an additional explanation of the high risk of falls in this population.