Spatiotemporal and dynamic foot biomechanical parameters in older adults with balance disorders and a history of previous falls
Abstract
Purpose
Balance disorders increase fall risk in older adults, yet global gait parameters may lack sensitivity to detect subtle impairments. This study evaluates whether detailed spatiotemporal and plantar-pressure measures more effectively identify balance-related gait alterations.
Methods
Fifty-two older adults (55–82 years) were assigned to a balance disorders group (n = 26) or a control group (n = 26) based on fall history and Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores. Barefoot walking trials were recorded using a pedobarographic platform. Scalar spatiotemporal gait parameters and pressure-related signals were normalized to body height and body mass, respectively. Dynamic foot balance parameters were analyzed as time-normalized waveforms over the stance phase. Between-group and within-group comparisons were performed using conventional statistical methods and Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM).
Results
No statistically significant between-group differences were found in global spatiotemporal gait parameters or in group-averaged mean and variability waveforms of dynamic foot balance measures. However, within-group SPM analyses presented stance-phase intervals with significant left–right asymmetries in selected dynamic foot balance parameters, occurring more frequently in participants with balance disorders. These asymmetries were parameter- as well as phase-specific and showed substantial inter-individual variability.
Conclusions
Older adults with balance disorders may preserve overall gait characteristics during steady-state walking while exhibiting subtle, localized asymmetries in dynamic foot balance. Waveform-based plantar pressure analysis may capture balance-related gait alterations not detected by global gait measures, although the clinical relevance of these findings requires further investigation.
© 2026 Piotr Prochor, Łukasz Magnuszewski, Zyta Beata Wojszel, Szczepan Piszczatowski, published by Wroclaw University of Science and Technology
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.