An observational study of foot lifts asymmetry during obstacle avoidance

• Main Authors: Ujjawal Singh Tomar, Nalina Gupta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2012-09-01
• Series: Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice
• Subjects: elderly population; foot lift; obstacle avoidance; younger population
• Online Access: http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.4103/0976-3147.102614

Background: Specific information regarding obstacle-clearance strategies used by community-dwelling young and elderly is scant in the literature, and physical barriers encountered in real-life situations have not been used in most of the studies. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine foot lift asymmetry during obstacle avoidance in young and elderly subjects. Settings and Design: This was an observational study. Materials and Methods: Thirty elderly and 30 young individuals were taken for the study. All the subjects were evaluated using different scales and foot lift asymmetry was measured on a walkway using three obstacles of different heights. Results: The mean and standard deviation (SD) value of the asymmetric index of the young was 3.25±0.28 and the mean and SD value of the asymmetric index of the elderly was 3.53±0.47. The asymmetric index of the elderly population was found to be higher than that of the younger population. Conclusion: The asymmetric index of the elderly population was found to be higher than that of the younger population, though it is not clinically significant.