The University of Pittsburgh & the Medical University of South Carolina study the impacts of mobility devices & limited mobility on frequent falls
Monday, August 19, 2024
PITTSBURGH—Clinical investigators from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) recently reported that different types of mobility devices and certain characteristics of people with limited mobility are associated with reported falls, according to their study.
The study, published in the journal “Disability & Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology,” analyzed more than 11,000 de-identified cases from the Functional Mobility Assessment and Uniform Dataset (FMA/UDS) registry, which is supported by U.S. Rehab, a division of VGM & Associates. The study analyzed people with mobility impairments who were seeking assessments for new mobility devices. It found 52% of the total sample reported at least one fall in the past three months, prior to their assessment for a new device, and almost half (47%) who reported a fall were using a walking aid or no device at all. Additionally, individuals with progressively acquired disabilities (i.e., Parkinson’s disease, osteoarthritis and cardiopulmonary disease) reported higher rates of falls than those with congenital disabilities (i.e., cerebral palsy and spina bifida). Fewer falls were also reported in individuals [...]