Gait variability and reliability after controlled tripping in older adults: a preliminary study
Introduction: Approximately 21% of the falls in older adults occur due to tripping, while walking. Despite the low variability of the gait kinematic parameters within a day, there is a paucity of information regarding the variability and reliability when a tripping is induced in different days. Additionally, studies that analyzed reproducibility measures in laboratory-induced trips included only young subjects. Objectives: To analyze the variability and the reliability (intra- and inter-day) of spatiotemporal gait parameters and joint angles after controlled tripping in older adults. Methods: Eight healthy older women performed 10-15 gait trials before and after tripping-induced laboratory in two different days. The trip was induced during the early-mid swing phase on the transposing segment and the kinematic data was obtained from trials. The variability and reliability of spatiotemporal gait parameters and joint were checked through the coefficient of variation (CV) and intraclass coefficient correlation (ICC). The two-way repeated measures ANOVA was applied. Results: The spatiotemporal variability was low intra and inter-day (CV: 1-4%; ICC: -0.44-0.97), whereas joint angles variability was higher (CV: 2-33%; ICC: 0.16-0.97). The variables did not differ significantly through instants and days, excepting the stride time (1%). Conclusion: The spatiotemporal gait parameters and joint angles after controlled tripping in older adults present low variability and high reliability intra- and inter-day. The experimental procedures were deemed not to affect gait pattern within and between sessions.