Non-Treadmill Trip Training – Laboratory Efficacy, Validation of Inertial Measurement Units, and Tripping Kinematics in the Real World
| dc.contributor.author | Lee, Youngjae | en |
| dc.contributor.committeechair | Madigan, Michael L. | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Kim, Sun Wook | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Lim, Sol Ie | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Castleberry, Julia Oxenreider | en |
| dc.contributor.committeemember | Nussbaum, Maury A. | en |
| dc.contributor.department | Industrial and Systems Engineering | en |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-06-06T08:00:59Z | en |
| dc.date.available | 2024-06-06T08:00:59Z | en |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-06-05 | en |
| dc.description.abstract | Trip-induced falls are a leading cause of injuries among adults aged 65 years or older. Perturbation-based balance training (PBT) has emerged as an exercise-based fall prevention intervention and shown efficacy in reducing the risk of trip-induced falls. The broad goal of my PhD research was to advance the application of this so-called trip training through three studies designed to address existing knowledge gaps. First, trip training is commonly conducted with the aid of costly specialized treadmills to induce trip-like perturbations. An alternative version of trip training that eliminates the need for a treadmill would enhance training feasibility and enable wider adoption. The goal of the first study was to compare the effects of non-treadmill training (NT), treadmill training (TT), and a control (i.e., no training) on reactive balance after laboratory-induced trips among community-dwelling older adults. After three weeks of the assigned intervention, participants were exposed to two laboratory-induced trips while walking. Results showed different beneficial effects of NT and TT. For example, NT may be more beneficial in improving recovery step kinematics, while TT may be more beneficial in improving trunk kinematics, compared to the control. While the first study showed the effects of PBT on laboratory-induced trips, little is known about how such training affects responses to real-world trips. Responses to real-world trips may be captured using wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs), yet IMUs have not been adequately validated for this use. Therefore, the goal of the second study was to investigate the concurrent validity of IMU-based trunk kinematics against the gold standard optical motion capture (OMC)-based trunk kinematics after overground trips among community-dwelling older adults. During two laboratory-induced trips, participants wore two IMUs placed on the sternum and shoulder, and OMC markers placed at anatomical landmarks of the trunk segment. Results showed that IMU-based trunk kinematics differed between falls and recoveries after overground trips, and exhibited at least good correlation (Pearson's correlation coefficient, r > 0.5) with the gold standard OMC-based trunk kinematics. The goal of the third study was then to explore differences in tripping kinematics between the laboratory and real world using wearable IMUs among community-dwelling older adults. Participants were asked to wear three IMUs (for sternum and both feet) and a voice recorder to capture their responses to real-world losses of balance (LOBs) during their daily activities for three weeks. Results showed a higher variance in laboratory-induced trips than real-world trips, and the study demonstrated the feasibility of using IMUs and a voice recorder to understand the underlying mechanisms and context of real-world LOBs. Overall, this work was innovative by evaluating a non-treadmill version of trip training, establishing the validity of IMUs in capturing kinematic responses after overground trips, and applying IMUs and a voice recorder to assess tripping kinematics in the real world. The results from this work will advance the use of PBT to reduce the prevalence of trip-induced falls and to investigate the real-world effects of such trip training in future studies. | en |
| dc.description.abstractgeneral | Trips and falls are a major health problem especially among older adults who are aged 65 years or older. Researchers have developed an innovative exercise-based fall prevention training program, which has shown to be helpful in reducing trips and falls. The broad goal of my PhD research was to advance the use of this so-called trip training through three new research studies. First, specialized treadmills are commonly used for trip training to simulate trip-induced falls. An alternative version of trip training without a treadmill would allow more people to receive benefits from this training. The goal of the first study was to compare the effects of non-treadmill training (NT), treadmill training (TT), and no training on balance recovery after tripping in the laboratory. Older adults living in the local community were recruited as research participants and completed NT, TT, or no training over three weeks. After that, they attended a laboratory session where they were tripped twice while walking on a walkway. Results showed that NT helped to take a longer and faster recovery step, while TT helped to limit trunk forward bending during tripping, both of which are important movements to prevent falling after tripping. While the first study showed benefits of trip training in the laboratory, not much is known about the benefits of trip training in the real world. Wearable sensors called inertial measurement units can record body movements without laboratory motion capture cameras, but their ability to record dynamic body movements during tripping needs to be tested. The goal of the second study was to evaluate the capabilities of these wearable sensors on recording trunk movements during tripping and compare them to those recorded by laboratory motion capture cameras. Participants were tripped twice in the laboratory, and their trunk movements were recorded by several wearable sensors and laboratory motion capture cameras. Results showed that these wearable sensors can distinguish between fallers and non-fallers after tripping, and that the trunk movements recorded by the wearable sensors were associated with those recorded by the laboratory motion capture cameras. With this confirmation, the third study was designed to compare balance recovery after tripping between the laboratory and real world using wearable sensors. Participants were asked to wear three wearable sensors and a voice recorder during their daily activities for three weeks. The wearable sensors recorded their trunk and feet movements, while the voice recorder was used for participants to provide detailed explanations of balance losses they experienced. Results showed a higher variability in balance recovery from the laboratory trips compared to the real-world trips. In addition, this study demonstrated that wearable sensors and a voice recorder can be used to study how people reacted to a balance loss and what they did to recover (or fall) from it. Overall, my PhD research work suggested a new version of trip training that does not require a treadmill, proved that wearable sensors can be used to record important body movements during tripping, and demonstrated the method to study balance recovery responses in the real world using wearable sensors. The results from the three studies will promote the use of trip training and provide guidelines for evaluating benefits of trip training in the real world. | en |
| dc.description.degree | Doctor of Philosophy | en |
| dc.format.medium | ETD | en |
| dc.identifier.other | vt_gsexam:40719 | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10919/119305 | en |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | Virginia Tech | en |
| dc.rights | In Copyright | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ | en |
| dc.subject | trip-induced falls | en |
| dc.subject | older adults | en |
| dc.subject | reactive balance | en |
| dc.subject | perturbation-based balance training | en |
| dc.subject | wearable sensors | en |
| dc.subject | loss of balance | en |
| dc.subject | biomechanics | en |
| dc.title | Non-Treadmill Trip Training – Laboratory Efficacy, Validation of Inertial Measurement Units, and Tripping Kinematics in the Real World | en |
| dc.type | Dissertation | en |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Industrial and Systems Engineering | en |
| thesis.degree.grantor | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | en |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | en |
| thesis.degree.name | Doctor of Philosophy | en |
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