The influence of age, muscle strength and speed of information processing on recovery responses to external perturbations in gait

- We study whether physiological factors are associated with trip recovery responses.
- A trip set-up able to control the duration, force and timing of perturbation is used.
- Elderly use mainly lowering strategies to recover from tripping.
- Responses to trips are slightly modified by walk speed, muscle strength, and cognition.
- Age has no direct effect on the employed trip recovery responses.

Dynamic imbalance caused by external perturbations to gait can successfully be counteracted by adequate recovery responses. The current study investigated how the recovery response is moderated by age, walking speed, muscle strength and speed of information processing. The gait pattern of 50 young and 45 elderly subjects was repeatedly perturbed at 20% and 80% of the first half of the swing phase using the Timed Rapid impact Perturbation (TRiP) set-up. Recovery responses were identified using 2D cameras. Muscular factors (dynamometer) and speed of information processing parameters (computer-based reaction time task) were determined. The stronger, faster reacting and faster walking young subjects recovered more often by an elevating strategy than elderly subjects. Twenty three per cent of the differences in recovery responses were explained by a combination of walking speed (B = −13.85), reaction time (B = −0.82), maximum extension strength (B = 0.01) and rate of extension moment development (B = 0.19). The recovery response that subjects employed when gait was perturbed by the TRiP set-up was modified by several factors; the individual contribution of walking speed, muscle strength and speed of information processing was small. Insight into remaining modifying factors is needed to assist and optimise fall prevention programmes.