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. 2025 Oct-Dec;13(4):229-237.
doi: 10.1080/24725838.2024.2420722. Epub 2024 Nov 7.

Strategies to Reduce Fall Severity after a Perturbation during Ladder Climbing

Erika M Pliner  1 , Kurt E Beschorner  2 , Na Jin Seo  3   4
Affiliations

Strategies to Reduce Fall Severity after a Perturbation during Ladder Climbing

Erika M Pliner et al. IISE Trans Occup Ergon Hum Factors. 2025 Oct-Dec.

Abstract

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSFalls from ladders remain a significant cause of injuries in workplaces as well as residential settings. While recent research reveals factors related to fall severity from a ladder, strategies that workers can adopt to minimize fall severity are not well understood. Results from our current study indicated that increased upper limb strength, achieving a higher hand hold, and controlled reestablishment of the foot on the rung have summative benefits to reduce fall severity and increase recovery from a misstep perturbation. Ensuring adequate upper limb strength among workers, and training workers to climb ladders leading with hand placement during ascent and foot placement during descent, can facilitate these beneficial strategies to arrest a ladder fall.

Keywords: Ladder fall; biomechanics; foot slip; hand; perturbation; strength; upper limb.

Plain language summary

Background: Falls from ladders remain a significant cause of workplace injuries. Purpose: Collective biomechanical responses associated with minimizing fall severity were investigated. Methods: Secondary analysis. In a laboratory, a perturbation of a ladder rung (simulating a misstep) was applied during ladder climbing of healthy adults. Hand and foot placements after the perturbation were characterized by whether they would be anticipated to improve fall outcomes (based on a previous analysis). The number of beneficial fall recovery factors (i.e., high upper body strength, optimal hand placement, reestablished foot placement) on fall severity was assessed. Underlying temporal mechanisms of hand and foot placement response were further investigated. Results: Participants recovered from a perturbation better if they achieved a greater number of beneficial fall recovery factors (e.g., optimal hand placement and reestablished foot placement vs. either alone). The optimal hand placement was achieved when the hand moved prior to the climbing perturbation toward the next rung (2 rungs up) during ascent, and when the hand regrasped the original rung (did not move to the next rung) after the climbing perturbation during descent. These strategies were associated with faster hand-rung contact after the perturbation. Reestablished foot placement was more likely to occur when more time was allotted before foot-rung contact. Conclusions: Combining fall recovery strategies of a higher hand hold for higher upper limb strength and reestablishing the foot with control may be strategies to maximize recovery from a fall from a ladder.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Normalized harness force by the number of beneficial fall recovery factors after a climbing perturbation. Participants with more beneficial recovery factors have a lower harness force (better recovery response), reducing the likelihood of a fall. Negative and positive error bars represent the first and third quartile ranges, respectively.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean hand release (yellow circle), hand contact (blue triangle), total hand movement (length of gray square), and 1-pt. of contact (visual estimate from length of square outline patterns) times for hand placement (HM) response after ascending (a) and descending (b) climbing perturbations. Variation in shape shades and outlined patterns denote significantly different times between hand placement responses. Time zero represents perturbation onset. HM2 – hand moved two rungs from initial position; HM1 – hand moved one rung from initial position; HM0 – hand elevated and returned to initial position. Negative values for the hand release time indicate the hand left the rung prior to perturbation onset. Error bars represent standard deviations for hand release (negative bars) and hand contact (positive bars) times.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Probability of a foot slip after foot-rung contact across foot flight time for contact/slip (yellow dots = 1) and maintained contact (yellow dots = 0) outcomes after an ascending (a) and descending (b) perturbation. Logistical regressions and equations of foot slip probability are plotted on the graphs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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