Perturbed walking balance recovery between premenopausal and postmenopausal females

Abstract

Background

Early postmenopausal females are at increased risk for falls and fragility fractures, despite often not meeting the diagnostic criteria for osteoporosis or showing noticeable declines in gait and balance.

Methods

Fifteen premenopausal females (aged 35–53) and fifteen postmenopausal females (aged 50–66) participated in this study. The Gait Real-time Analysis Interactive Laboratory was utilized to simulate unexpected perturbations during walking. Variables comprising the number of contralateral limb steps, step length, width, height, stance time, and double support time were analysed and compared between the groups in both natural and perturbed gait using statistical parametric mapping.

Findings

During the swing phase of the contralateral, unperturbed limb, most premenopausal females completed the swing phase without prematurely lowering their legs and taking additional steps with it. Conversely, most postmenopausal participants lowered their contralateral, unperturbed leg and took one or two steps with it before fully entering the swing phase and proceeding to the heel strike of the next gait cycle. Moreover, a smaller step width and shorter step height were observed during the perturbed gait cycle in the postmenopausal group compared to the premenopausal group.

Interpretation

Menopausal status significantly impacted balance recovery strategies and gait spatial parameters during balance-challenging perturbed conditions. These findings highlight the importance of applying perturbations and using spatial parametric mapping in further research to better understand gait stability and its role in fall risk during early menopause.