Presenter: Tomo Liou

Faculty Sponsor: Sarah A. Roelker

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Kinesiology

Session: Poster Session 4, 2:15 PM - 3:00 PM, 163, C19

ABSTRACT

Stair descent is essential for independence, but poses a greater risk of falling compared to other forms of locomotion, such as level walking and stair ascent. Almost 30% of older adults find descending stairs difficult, and stairs are the second most common activity resulting in injurious falls. In addition to age, changes in speed may alter joint mechanics or balance, further increasing fall risk. The objective of this study is to determine how speed and age independently and relationally affect the biomechanics of stair descent. Specifically, we will compare sagittal plane joint angles, ground reaction forces, sagittal plane joint moments, the total support moment, and sagittal plane whole body angular momentum between older and young adults descending stairs across three different speeds. We hypothesize: 1) peak values of all outcome measures will be greater at faster speeds, 2) at a given speed, older adults will produce lower peak measures except for a greater support moment due to greater extensor moments compared to young adults, and 3) older adults will have larger changes in outcome measures with increasing speed than young adults. Three-dimensional motion capture data from 10 young (18-40 years) and 10 older (65-80 years) adults performing nine stair descent trials on an instrumented staircase, three each at a slow, self-selected, and fast speed, will be used to quantify the outcome measures. Separate two-factor repeated measures ANOVA will assess the main effects of speed and age as well as the interaction of age and speed on each outcome measure.