Journal
JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICS
Volume 36, Issue 3, Pages 413-420Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/S0021-9290(02)00396-2
Keywords
falls; simulation; impact; injury; upper-extremity
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Funding
- NIA NIH HHS [P30 AG 08808, P01 AG 10542] Funding Source: Medline
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Computer simulation was used to predict the extent to which age-related muscle atrophy may adversely affect the safe arrest of a forward fall onto the arms. The biomechanical factors affecting the separate risks for wrist fracture or head impact were examined using a two-dimensional, 5-link, forward dynamic model. The hypothesis was tested in older females that age-related loss in muscular strength renders the use of the arms ineffective in arresting a forward fall without either a torso impact exceeding 0.5 m/s or distal forearm loads sufficient to fracture the wrist. The results demonstrate that typical age-related decline in arm muscle strength substantially reduces the ability to arrest a forward fall without the elbows buckling and, therefore, a risk of torso and/or head impact. The model predicted that older women with below-average bone strength risk a Colles fracture when arresting typical falls, particularly with an extended arm. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
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