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A German-Dutch research team, including scientists from the University of Bayreuth, has investigated how age-related changes contribute to an increased risk of falling in older adults. Using computer simulations, they explored specific scenarios involving stepping down from a kerb or stair with varying levels of muscle strength and nerve signal speed—both of which tend to decline with age. Their findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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Why it matters
For many people, stepping down from a kerb or stair is second nature. However, as we age, the interaction between muscles and the nervous system changes: muscles lose strength and nerves transmit signals more slowly, which is often linked to a higher risk of falling. Simulation studies, such as those involving the University of Bayreuth, help us understand how these age-related changes affect movement patterns, enabling the development of recommendations to reduce fall risk.
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When stepping down, younger, healthy individuals typically reduce calf muscle activity in anticipation—already at the point of contact before the step. This lowers their centre of gravity early, allowing for a controlled descent. Older adults, however, appear to adopt a different strategy: they shift from reducing calf muscle activity to increasing thigh muscle activity.
“Why this strategy changes with age remains unclear. However, we suspect that the loss of muscle strength and slower nerve signal transmission play a key role,” says PD Dr. Roy Müller from the Bayreuth Centre for Sports Science (BaySpo) at the University of Bayreuth, and head of the Gait and Movement Laboratory at Klinikum Bayreuth GmbH. Given the increased risk of falls among older people at steps or kerbs, it is crucial to understand how age-related changes affect movement and muscle control strategies.
To this end, Müller, together with Dr. Lucas Schreff, a researcher at the Gait and Movement Laboratory at Klinikum Bayreuth GmbH, conducted computer simulations to examine scenarios of descending steps with reduced muscle strength and delayed neural signal transmission. “Both reduced muscle strength and slower signal transmission are factors that cannot be isolated in experiments with real people—but they can be in computer simulations. That’s the advantage of our approach,” Müller explains. This allowed them to test various step heights and different degrees of muscle strength loss and signal delay.
The study’s results show that the reduced muscle strength observed in older adults significantly limits the “solution space” when stepping down: the weaker the muscles, the more precisely muscle activation must be coordinated to ensure a safe step. This limited solution space could become particularly problematic when other age-related impairments are present, such as poor eyesight, which may lead to misjudging the height of a step. In such cases, the risk of falling increases even with minor deviations in movement execution, according to the German-Dutch research team.
“Our findings suggest that the control strategy involving increased thigh muscle activity requires less precise coordination than reducing calf muscle activity. This could explain the shift in control strategy with age,” says Müller. A combination of targeted strength training and exercises to improve perception and movement control could help counteract the increased risk of falling. Further studies will investigate whether targeted training to maintain the control strategy of reduced calf muscle activity can lower the risk of falls.
The research was conducted in collaboration with the Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research in Tübingen and the University Medical Centre in Amsterdam.
PD Dr. Roy Müller
BaySpo – Bayreuth Center of Sport Science
Theory and Practice of Sports and Movement Fields
University of Bayreuth
Head of Gait and Movement Laboratory
Klinikum Bayreuth GmbH
Mail: roy.mueller@klinikum-bayreuth.de
The effect of age-related sensorimotor changes on stepdown strategy: a predictive simulation study. Lucas Schreff, Niels F. J. Waterval, Marjolein M. van der Krogt, Daniel F. B. Häufle & Roy Müller. Scientific Reports (2025)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-14422-0
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Journalisten, Wissenschaftler, jedermann
Ernährung / Gesundheit / Pflege, Medizin
überregional
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Englisch
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