Falls threaten the quality of life of older adults. One critical requirement for maintaining balance during gait is the ability to generate proactive postural adjustments in the face of perturbations such as slips and trips. These adjustments, generated in anticipation of encountering a perturbation, might include alterations in the body's center of mass state and changes in gait patterns. This proposed research focuses on potential associations between aging and proactive gait adjustments when repeatedly exposed to slipping and tripping hazards while walking forward and backward. Additionally, this research will compare how young and older adults change their anticipatory gait adjustments when uncertain of the nature of the perturbation (slip or trip). In summary, potential findings of this study may reveal differences in proactive postural responses between young and older adults. These differences may then be used to better identify those at risk of falling and to develop specific interventions improving recovery strategies and thus minimizing fall incidence.
