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Effect of fall characteristics on the severity of hip impact during a fall on the ground from standing height

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Abstract

Summary

The magnitude of hip impact force during a fall on the ground (i.e., concrete surface) from standing height was determined. We found that this force decreases up to 59%, depending on how they land on the ground.

Introduction

We determined the magnitude of hip impact force that humans may experience in the event of a fall from standing height on the ground, in order to examine how the hip impact force was affected by characteristics of a fall.

Methods

Twenty subjects mimicked a typical older adults’ falls on a mat. Trials were acquired with three initial fall directions: forward, sideways, and backward. Trials were also acquired with three knee positions at the time of hip impact: knee together, knee on the mat, and free knee. During falls, attenuated vertical hip impact forces and corresponding depression of the mat were measured via a force plate placed under the mat and motion capture system, respectively. Using a mass-spring model, actual hip impact force and body stiffness during a fall on the ground were estimated.

Results

Hip impact force averaged 4.0 kN (SD = 1.7). The hip impact force was associated with knee condition (F = 25.6, p < 0.005), but not with fall direction (F = 0.4, p = 0.599). Compared with “knee on the mat,” hip impact force averaged 59% and 45% greater in “free knee” and “knee together,” respectively (4.6 versus 2.9 kN, p < 0.005; 4.3 versus 2.9 kN, p < 0.005). However, the hip impact force did not differ between “free knee” and “knee together (4.6 versus 4.3 kN, p = 0.554).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that hip fracture risk during a fall decreases substantially, depending on how they land on the ground, informing the development of safe landing strategies to prevent fall-related hip fractures in older adults.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported, in part, by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MIST) (No. 2017R1C1B5017997) and the Yonsei University Mirae Campus Future-Leading Research Initiative of 2017 (2017-52-0062).

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  1. Injury Prevention and Biomechanics Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Yonsei University, 1 Yonseidae-gil, Wonju, Gangwon-do, 26493, South Korea

    K.-t. Lim & W.J. Choi

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Correspondence to W.J. Choi.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. The study protocol was approved by the institutional review board at Yonsei University Mirae Campus.

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Lim, Kt., Choi, W. Effect of fall characteristics on the severity of hip impact during a fall on the ground from standing height. Osteoporos Int 31, 1713–1719 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00198-020-05432-x

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