The Effect of Plantar Foot Pressure Negotitating Obstacles in the Elderly

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Purpose: This research investigated falls due to obstacles that occur among elderly people by assessing changes in the values of plantar foot force, peak force, and plantar foot pressure in elderly subjects while they were stepping over obstacles of different heights. Methods: The subjects were 20 elderly people aged 70-80 years; Pressure was measured on flat ground(0 cm), and after installing obstacles of 8 cm and 12 cm using the F-scan system, which is a resistance-type pressure sensor. A one-way analysis of variance was performed to compare pressure on each part of the foot according to various heights after collecting data using the Tekscan program. The least significant difference test was used for the post-hoc analysis, A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: The force value for the toe area (parts 1, and 2) and contact pressure increased significantly with the 12 cm obstacle (p<0.05). The peak force value and the peak contact pressure for part 1 increased significantly with the 12 cm obstacle (p<0.05). Conclusion: Larger changes appeared in the functions and structure of the foot while subjects walked over obstacles of different heights compared to flatland walking. This result suggests that people have safety strategies to prevent falls, and that there is a need for a more realistic approach through practice to overcome obstacles of various heights to prevent falls.