Steady Strides Academy

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed a practical algorithmic approach for identifying and managing older adults at risk of falls. The Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) protocol has been shown to be teachable to health science students and faculty (Gerontol Geriatr Educ. 2019 Jan-Mar;40(1):105-120), and useful for community based fall risk…

Whole body vibration has been suggested to help reduce falls and fractures by improving lower extremity strength, balance and bone strength. A systematic review and meta-analysis showed no direct overall effect on bone mineral density, bone micro-architecture parameters or bone turnover markers. There was evidence from four studies however that whole body vibration reduces risk…

Results of a single-site, retrospective cohort study of 304 patients aged 65 or above with haematological, gastrointestinal, urological, breast, lung and gynaecological cancers showed that 35.8% of them had at least one fall in the preceding 6 months, which is considered high compared to otherwise similar age-matched population. Major depression, functional impairment, frailty, dementia and low social support…

It has been documented that peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage outside the spinal canal) has been associated with altered gait parameters and increased risk of falls. It has been traditionally thought natural gait speed is a good indicator of risk of falls in older adults. A recent study used wearable sensors to analyze gait-related variables in…

There have been new hip protections devices that use inflatable airbags to protect hips from fractures. One study shows that using fall detection technology falls could be detected with an average lead-time of 700 milliseconds before the impact occurs, with no false alarms (100% specificity), a sensitivity of 95.2% J Biomech. 2008 Dec 5;41(16):3475-81. This study…

A recently published article analyzed shoe fit in older adults. 111 older adults aged 60 years and over were recruited to study proper shoe wear in older adults. Overall, 72% of participants were wearing footwear that did not fit correctly on both feet, 90% had shoes with smooth, partly worn or fully worn sole treading and…