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Review
. 2019 Sep 10:16:15.
doi: 10.1186/s11556-019-0222-5. eCollection 2019.

Walking with rollator: a systematic review of gait parameters in older persons

Marion Mundt  1 , Joao Pedro Batista  2 , Bernd Markert  1 , Cornelius Bollheimer  2 , Thea Laurentius  2
Affiliations
Review

Walking with rollator: a systematic review of gait parameters in older persons

Marion Mundt et al. Eur Rev Aging Phys Act. .

Abstract

Background: The aging population increasingly needs assistive technologies, such as rollators, to function and live less dependently. Rollators are designed to decrease the risk of falls by improving the gait mechanics of their users. However, data on the biomechanics of rollator assisted gait of older adults are limited, or mostly derived from experiments with younger adults.

Methods and results: This review summarises the data from 18 independent studies on the kinematic and kinetic gait parameters of assisted gait of older persons. All of these studies evaluated spatio-temporal parameters, but not joint angles or moments.

Conclusion: Due to the limited research on rollator supported gait in older adults, the number of parameters that could be analysed in this systematic review was restricted. Further research in the analysis of spatio-temporal parameters and a higher standardisation in clinical research will be necessary.

Keywords: Assisted gait; Biomechanics; Four-wheeled-Walker; Geriatrics; Rollator; Systematic review; Walker; Wheeled Walker.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scheme of the literature search
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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