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Related Concept Videos

Indirect Motor Pathways01:22

Indirect Motor Pathways

The indirect motor or extrapyramidal pathways originate in the brainstem, the lower portion of the brain that connects it to the spinal cord. They consist of several distinct tracts, each with specialized functions. The four main tracts of the indirect motor pathways are the vestibulospinal tract, the reticulospinal tract, the tectospinal tract, and the rubrospinal tract.
The vestibulospinal tract originates in the vestibular nuclei of the brainstem. The vestibular system detects changes in...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
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How older adults maintain lateral balance while walking on narrowing paths.

Meghan E Kazanski1, Joseph P Cusumano2, Jonathan B Dingwell3

  • 1Department of Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Gait & Posture
|June 4, 2024
PubMed
Summary

Older adults struggle with lateral balance, especially on narrowing paths. New analysis of gait dynamics and instability risk offers better insights for fall prevention strategies in seniors.

Keywords:
AgingBalance ControlFall RiskStabilityWalking

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Area of Science:

  • Biomechanics
  • Gerontology
  • Human Movement Science

Background:

  • Older adults face challenges maintaining side-to-side balance during daily activities, increasing fall risk.
  • Understanding how older adults adapt their lateral balance to environmental constraints is crucial for fall prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how older adults adjust their mediolateral (side-to-side) balance while walking on progressively narrowing paths.
  • To determine the implications of these balance adjustments on stability and fall risk in older adults.

Main Methods:

  • Healthy older and younger adults walked on paths that narrowed from 45 cm to 5 cm.
  • Researchers measured lateral center-of-mass dynamics and calculated lateral Margins of Stability (MoSL) and Probability of Instability (PoIL).
  • Gait dynamics were analyzed during path traversal and when participants switched paths.

Main Results:

  • All participants showed reduced MoSL and increased PoIL as paths narrowed.
  • Older adults displayed greater average and variability in MoSL compared to younger adults.
  • While older adults exited narrowing paths sooner, their instability risk (PoIL) was comparable or slightly lower than younger adults at the point of exit.

Conclusions:

  • The study challenges the traditional view that larger MoSL equates to greater stability.
  • Analyzing step-to-step gait dynamics and PoIL provides a more accurate measure of instability risk.
  • Identified adaptive strategies offer potential targets for interventions aimed at reducing falls in older populations.