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. 2019 Apr 22:2019:6804614.
doi: 10.1155/2019/6804614. eCollection 2019.

Age-Related Differences in Head Impact during Experimentally Induced Sideways Falls

Tyler A Wood  1 , Yaejin Moon  1 , Ruopeng Sun  1 , Alka Bishnoi  1 , Jacob J Sosnoff  1
Affiliations

Age-Related Differences in Head Impact during Experimentally Induced Sideways Falls

Tyler A Wood et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

Purpose: To examine head impact incidence and head acceleration during experimentally induced falls as a function of age.

Methods: 15 young adults (21.2±2.7) and 10 older adults (61.9±4.3 years) underwent 6 experimentally induced sideways falls. Participants fell sideways onto a 20cm crash pad. The number of head impacts was tabulated from video recordings and head acceleration was calculated from motion capture data. A total of 147 falls were analyzed.

Results: The young group underwent 88 falls, in which 11.4% resulted in head impact. The older group underwent 59 falls, in which 34.5% resulted in head impact. A proportion analysis revealed older adults had a significantly greater proportion of head impacts than young adults (X 2(1) = 11.445, p = 0.001). A two-way ANOVA only revealed a main effect of head impact on acceleration (F(1,142) = 54.342, p<0.001).

Conclusion: The older adults experienced a greater proportion of head impacts during sideways falls. Head impact resulted in greater head acceleration compared to no head impact. Collectively, this data highlights the possibility that age-related neuromuscular changes to head control may result in elevated risk of fall-related TBIs. Future research examining mechanisms underlying increases in fall-related head impact is warranted.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Experimental setup of a falling simulation. Image adapted from Moon 2018 [16].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Head acceleration profiles for a 64-year-old male with no head impact and a 63-year-old male with no head impact.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Head acceleration as a function of age group and impact.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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