A better fall
A recent report on the science of falls caught my attention on Good Morning America this week. The segment featured the research of Mark Grabiner of the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Grabiner and his research team put women age 62 and older--the most at-risk group for slip and trip falls--through various slip and trip tests to study how they fall. The researchers perform the slip test by leading each woman--who wears a safety harness and 22 sensors to monitor movement--over a Plexiglass sheet and then greasing up the sheet behind her to create an unsuspecting fall. During the trip test, a small bar pops up in front of the women and researchers note if they stumble or fall.
Red lights read the sensors, which send a picture of the body's movements to the computer. The researchers then use the data to interpret which movements kept the women upright and which led them to fall.
The researchers hope that the findings will ultimately help create exercises that will teach people to fall better and minimize the risk of injury.