Differences between Fallers by Tripping and Nonfallers in the OSFS Test

Sohee Shin, Shinichi Demura, Tsuneo Watanabe, Bateer Shi, Tamotsu Yabumoto, Toshio Matsuoka

Department of Sports Medicine and Sports Science, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
Kanazawa University Graduate School of Natural Science & Technology, Kanazawa, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/aar.2014.32020                

Abstract

This study evaluates the effects of a fall experience caused by tripping during the repetitive stepping movements over an obstacle [obstacle-single leg forward step (OSFS) test]. The study included 147 participants who were divided into 2 groups: 25 fallers caused by tripping and 122 nonfallers. The subjects were asked to step forward over a 10-cm-high obstacle with 1 leg and then return to their original position, as quickly as possible, and this test was repeated for 5 times. The OSFS test was evaluated in 2 phases: the OSFS-F phase, wherein the participants stepped forward on one leg, and the OSFS-R phase, wherein they returned to their original position. Significant differences were observed in both phases of the OSFS test between the two groups, and the fallers by tripping were significantly inferior to the nonfallers. The area under the curve [AUC; area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve] was more than 0.63 for all the parameters, which was statistically significant. In conclusion, the fallers by tripping were inferior to the nonfallers in the obstacle step movement.

Keywords

Fallers by Tripping, Nonfallers, ROC Curve, OSFS Test

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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