Background: Many older adults fall while turning. During the turning maneuver, rotation of the head precedes the rest of the body, creating a spatial frame of reference. Limitations of the neck rotation, may interfere...Background: Many older adults fall while turning. During the turning maneuver, rotation of the head precedes the rest of the body, creating a spatial frame of reference. Limitations of the neck rotation, may interfere with the turning mechanism, affect stability, and lead to recurrent falls. However, the association between the range of the neck rotation and turning stability was not explored yet. Purpose: To compare the impact of restricting the neck rotation by a brace, on the turning stability of adults with and without a history of falls. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study consisting of 59 adults (average age 76 ± 6.9). A group (N = 29) with at least 2 falls (FL) in the last year and a group (N = 30) without a history of falls in the last year (NFL). All participants performed three tests: Timed up and Go (TUG), 180° Turn Test (180 TT) and 360° Turn Test (360 TT) with and without a neck brace. Results: All the scores of the FL were lower than those of the NFL (p Application of the brace worsened the performance of the 180 TT and the 360 TT of both groups (p < 0.05) but there was no interaction between group and bracing. The TUG score of only the NFL was affected by the brace (p < 0.004). Interestingly, only the range of the right neck rotation was correlated with balance tests and number of falls (r = 0.272;p Conclusions: Restricting of the neck mobility worsened the turning stability of both groups but without interaction. The study reinforces the need of considering the neck range of motion when addressing adult stability. A decrease in the range of right neck rotation was identified as a risk factor for loss of balance.展开更多
文摘Background: Many older adults fall while turning. During the turning maneuver, rotation of the head precedes the rest of the body, creating a spatial frame of reference. Limitations of the neck rotation, may interfere with the turning mechanism, affect stability, and lead to recurrent falls. However, the association between the range of the neck rotation and turning stability was not explored yet. Purpose: To compare the impact of restricting the neck rotation by a brace, on the turning stability of adults with and without a history of falls. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study consisting of 59 adults (average age 76 ± 6.9). A group (N = 29) with at least 2 falls (FL) in the last year and a group (N = 30) without a history of falls in the last year (NFL). All participants performed three tests: Timed up and Go (TUG), 180° Turn Test (180 TT) and 360° Turn Test (360 TT) with and without a neck brace. Results: All the scores of the FL were lower than those of the NFL (p Application of the brace worsened the performance of the 180 TT and the 360 TT of both groups (p < 0.05) but there was no interaction between group and bracing. The TUG score of only the NFL was affected by the brace (p < 0.004). Interestingly, only the range of the right neck rotation was correlated with balance tests and number of falls (r = 0.272;p Conclusions: Restricting of the neck mobility worsened the turning stability of both groups but without interaction. The study reinforces the need of considering the neck range of motion when addressing adult stability. A decrease in the range of right neck rotation was identified as a risk factor for loss of balance.
