Dr. Masahiro Fujimoto, Assistant Professor in the College of Sport and Health Science, published a research paper in the Journal of Biomechanics, co-authored with Dr. Woei-Nan Bair and Dr. Mark Rogers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. An impaired ability to control lateral balance is an important aspect of balance problems contributing to falls, and an inability to recover lateral balance with a single step has been reported to be predictive of future falls in older adults. This paper demonstrated that although reduced balance stability at first foot contact could be a determinant of taking additional steps as previously reported, stepping responses (i.e., single vs. multiple steps) could also be attributable to the balance stability as early as first step lift-off, preceding foot contact. The findings of this study would be useful in developing training interventions effective for fall prevention.

Fujimoto M, Bair W-N, and Rogers MW. (2017). Single and multiple step balance recovery responses can be different at first step lift-off following lateral waist-pull perturbations in older adults. Journal of Biomechanics, 55: 41-47.