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Published on: October 25, 2024
Assessing Fall Risk in Older Adults: The Role of Reaction Time and Inhibitory Control Testing With ReacStick
Pawarut Palakawong Na Ayudhya1, Chatkaew Pongmala2, James K Richardson3
1Residency Training Curriculum in Rehabilitation Medicine, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
|June 5, 2026
Summary
ReacStick parameters accurately identify older adults at risk of falls by assessing inhibitory control. Combining ReacStick with strength tests improves fall risk assessment.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Rehabilitation Science
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Falls in older adults are a major public health concern, leading to injury and loss of independence.
- Accurate identification of fall risk is crucial for implementing timely interventions.
- Current functional tests have limitations in precisely assessing underlying sensorimotor deficits contributing to falls.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of ReacStick parameters in differentiating between recurrent fallers and non-fallers among community-dwelling older adults.
- To compare the diagnostic precision of ReacStick with established functional mobility and balance tests.
- To identify specific ReacStick parameters that are most predictive of faller status.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 90 age- and sex-matched community-dwelling older adults (fallers vs. non-fallers).
- Assessment of sensorimotor functions, cognition, Timed Up and Go (TUG), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and ReacStick parameters (Simple Reaction Time, Reaction Accuracy).
- Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine discriminative ability and independent predictors of faller status.
Main Results:
- Recurrent fallers exhibited significantly poorer Simple Reaction Time (SRT), OFF Accuracy, and combined All Accuracy compared to non-fallers.
- ReacStick parameters, particularly OFF Accuracy/SRT, demonstrated high diagnostic precision (Area Under Curve = 0.79) in identifying faller status.
- Good knee extensor strength was found to be a protective factor against falls (adjusted Odds Ratio = 0.53).
Conclusions:
- Diminished short latency inhibitory control, as measured by ReacStick, is a highly accurate indicator of faller status in older adults.
- ReacStick shows promise as a sensitive tool for assessing processing speed and inhibitory control relevant to fall risk.
- Integrating ReacStick assessments with strength evaluations can enhance the accuracy of fall risk classification in clinical settings.
