Advances in Fall Prevention

Dear Colleagues,

According to the National Safety Council (NCS), National Council on Aging (NCOA), and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), falls are one of the major contributors to both fatal and non-fatal injuries across various populations (e.g., clinical, elderly, and occupational). Falls are also extremely common in various environments such as at home, at nursing home facilities, at long term care facilities, and at the workplace. Falls and fall-related injuries can be attributed to postural instability caused by an induced loss of balance and failure to recover from the imbalance. Falls can happen due to a variety of intrinsic (human) factors and extrinsic (environmental) factors, and can be of different types, such as loss-of-balance-induced, slip-induced, trip-induced, and external-perturbation-induced, and can also be from elevated levels or at ground levels. Depending upon the severity, the consequences of falls can range from fatality to hospitalization for neurological and musculoskeletal injuries, functional impairment, longstanding pain, loss of independence, time away from work, etc. Falls also cause a significant financial burden to both the individual and to the institution.

Falls are preventable, and as such various approaches to mitigate and prevent falls among high-risk populations exist, such as traditional balance and gait training that are exercise-based, the use of specific techniques such as Tai Chi, yoga, hydrotherapy, and perturbation-based balance training. Advances in technology also allow the use of newer intervention measures such as extended reality, virtual reality, augmented reality, and various types of wearable sensors and wearable technology to detect falls through active monitoring and prevent future falls through advanced rehabilitation. With research in advances in fall prevention constantly evolving, this Special Issue “Advances in Fall Prevention” will focus on the application of principles of neuroscience, biomechanics, motor control, biomedical engineering, human factors, ergonomics, public health, and epidemiology to fall prevention in various populations. Advances in fall monitoring, assessment, detection, intervention, and rehabilitation are of interest. A wide range of topics addressing fall prevention methods for preventive monitoring, assessment, detection, intervention, and rehabilitation for falls and fall-related injuries will be covered. Contributions including empirical research, review articles, case reports, etc. on advances in fall prevention are encouraged.

Dr. Harish Chander
Dr. Jennifer C. Reneker
Guest Editors

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