Gait Biomechanical Parameters Related to Falls in the Elderly: A Systematic Review

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, one-third of elderly people aged 65 or over fall annually, and this number increases after 70. Several gait biomechanical parameters were associated with a history of falls. This study aimed to conduct a systematic review to identify and describe the gait biomechanical parameters related to falls in the elderly. MEDLINE Complete, Cochrane, Web of Science, and CINAHL Complete were searched for articles on 22 November 2023, using the following search sentence: (gait) AND (fall*) AND ((elder*) OR (old*) OR (senior*)) AND ((kinematic*) OR (kinetic*) OR (biomechanic*) OR (electromyogram*) OR (emg) OR (motion analysis*) OR (plantar pressure)). This search identified 13,988 studies. From these, 96 were selected. Gait speed, stride/step length, and double support phase are gait biomechanical parameters that differentiate fallers from non-fallers. Fallers also tended to exhibit higher variability in gait biomechanical parameters, namely the minimum foot/toe clearance variability. Although the studies were scarce, differences between fallers and non-fallers were found regarding lower limb muscular activity and joint biomechanics. Due to the scarce literature and contradictory results among studies, it is complex to draw clear conclusions for parameters related to postural stability. Minimum foot/toe clearance, step width, and knee kinematics did not differentiate fallers from non-fallers.