Effects of Serial Subtractions on Elderly Gait Speed in a Virtual Reality Setting
Year: 2017
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in older adults aged 65+ with one in three adults falling each year. Cognitive processes are involved in gait, and thus, as cognitive changes are normative with age, this may impact fall risk in the elderly. Sixteen older adults aged 70.8 ± 5.3 years took part in a dual-task (DT) study where they walked on a split-belt self-paced treadmill with and without a virtual reality (VR) setting while simultaneously performing a serial subtraction (SS) task. For SS, individuals were given a random 3-digit starting number and told to subtract by three from that number for one minute; this process occurred three times. Only correct substitutions were counted toward their total score. Previous literature showed that individuals will slow their gait to deal with a cognitive task, and our results supported this trend. Subjects tended to walk slower in both the VR and non-VR settings while dual-tasking compared with the walking-only control trial; walking while SS was significantly slower in the VR session (p= .008). Initial analyses found no significant differences in correct scores between conditions, however, when grouping based on age, there was a significant difference (p<.001). Subjects below 70 years performed better in the SS task (69 correct) compared to subjects 70 and older (30 correct). Overall subjects tended to score higher and walk faster in the VR condition. This could provide evidence of VR conditions better approximating daily life and thus implementing them as part of a fall intervention program.
Source: Innovation in Aging
Institution: University of Nebraska at Omaha
Language: English
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2603200980