An observational study of foot lifts asymmetry during obstacle avoidance

BACKGROUND: Specific information regarding obstacle-clearance strategies used by community-dwelling young and elderly is scant in the literature, and physical barriers encountered in real-life situations have not been used in most of the studies. AIM: The aim of this study is to determine foot lift asymmetry during obstacle avoidance in young and elderly subjects. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was an observational study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty elderly and 30 young individuals were taken for the study. All the subjects were evaluated using different scales and foot lift asymmetry was measured on a walkway using three obstacles of different heights. RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation (SD) value of the asymmetric index of the young was 3.25±0.28 and the mean and SD value of the asymmetric index of the elderly was 3.53±0.47. The asymmetric index of the elderly population was found to be higher than that of the younger population. CONCLUSION: The asymmetric index of the elderly population was found to be higher than that of the younger population, though it is not clinically significant.