This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1545968307313510v1 22/4/410    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Wong, W. L. Articles by Abernethy, B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wong, W. L. Articles by Abernethy, B. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Reinvestment and Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: h0197925{at}hkusua.hku.hk.

	Abstract

Background. Falls are common in older adults and have many adverse consequences. In an attempt to prevent further incidents, elder fallers may consciously monitor and control their movements. Ironically, conscious movement control may be one factor that contributes to disruption of automaticity of walking, increasing the likelihood of subsequent falls. Objective. The Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale (MSRS), which aims to measure the propensity for movement-related self-consciousness and for conscious processing of movement, was used to try to discriminate elder fallers from non-fallers. Methods. Fifty-two volunteer older adults, aged 65 or above, participated. In addition to the 10-item MSRS, participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination questionnaire, Timed "Up & Go" test, and Four Word Short-Term Memory test. Demographics including age, gender, and history of falling were collected. Results. Elder fallers scored significantly higher than non-fallers on both the movement self-consciousness and conscious motor processing components of the MSRS. Logistic regression revealed a significant association between the MSRS (conscious motor processing component) and "faller or non-faller" status. Conclusions. Elder fallers may have a higher propensity to consciously control their movements. The MSRS shows potential as a clinical tool with which to predict falls in the elderly, as well as to gain insight into the perception of safety during walking in any impaired patient.

First published on March 11, 2008, doi:10.1177/1545968307313510

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair 2008;22:410.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2008


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Hyndman, R. M. Pickering, and A. Ashburn Reduced Sway During Dual Task Balance Performance Among People With Stroke at 6 and 12 Months After Discharge From Hospital Neurorehabil Neural Repair, October 1, 2009; 23(8): 847 - 854. [Abstract] [PDF]