Measurement of Functional Gait and Balance Using Accelerometry

S Mawson Sheffield Hallam University The study of human gait and balance has been extensive. However, much of this work has used optical motion analysis systems such as the Vicon TM, together with or independently from data from force plates built into laboratory floors. While considered by many to be the gold standard, this equipment is expensive and lacks clinical applicability, as subjects are required to walk within camera fields or stand on moving platforms, neither of which truly represents normal activities of daily living. The ability to balance is an essential component of functional gait, the latter often being described as a ‘controlled fall’. In the elderly population balance becomes compromised as a result of changes to the neuromuscular and musculoskeletal systems (Simpson, 1993). Falls are a major cause of disability and the leading cause of mortality due to injury in the over-75-year age group. In the prevention and treatment of falls, information is required about elderly people’s ability to control the acceleration and deceleration of the centre of mass within their cone of stability as they change from double to single