Juliana Moreira is graduated in Physiotherapy by ESS Polytechnic of Porto (2011), obtained her M.S.c. in Palliative Care in 2017 at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto. Currently, she is attending her Ph.D in Physiotherapy at the Faculty of Sport of the University of Porto under the thesis theme “Study and analysis of Biomechanical Parameters of Human Movement based on disability Indicators in Older Adults”. Additionally, Juliana Moreira is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiotherapy at ESS Polytechnic of Porto and collaborates with the Center for Rehabilitation Research in the Human Movement System (Re)habilitation Area, mainly in the biomechanical analysis area.
Biomechanical determinants for disability in older adults - the potential of biomechanical assessment in the early detection of disease markers.
Age-related movement alterations, such as decreased gait speed, have been linked to the onset of illnesses or fall risk prediction. The movement analysis has been based on isolated tasks, mainly gait, and a discrete approach that does not translate the complexity of the interactions between individuals or their characteristics. A multivariate analysis, conversely, will provide knowledge of changes in the movement pattern of older persons by using complete biomechanical data from diverse functional tasks as well as other health and disability indices. As a result, the Center for Rehabilitation Research is developing a project to identify biomechanical determinants from different functional tasks in older adults through a comparative analysis between groups with a different set of indicators.
One of the tasks under study is the stair descent, as it is related to a higher incidence of falls and carries a higher risk of mortality and serious injuries. There’s few research available on stair descent in older adults, lacking studies that correlate temporal-spatial parameters with lower limb kinematics and centre of mass velocity, and no research available that analyses the influence of the history of falls on these parameters. The aim of this study was to evaluate biomechanical parameters, such as hip, knee, and ankle angles and powers, center of mass velocity, temporal-spatial parameters, and foot clearance and placement on stair descent in older adults who fall and do not fall.
