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Results for “fall from height”

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At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Liquid rope coiling on a solid surface.

We present an experimental study of the coiling instability of a liquid "rope" falling on a solid surface. Coiling can occur in three different regimes--viscous, gravitational, or inertial--depending on the fluid viscosity and density, the fall height, and the flow rate. The competition among the different forces causes the coiling frequency first to decrease and subsequently to increase with increasing height. We also observe an oscillation between two coiling states in the gravitational-to-inertial transitional range, reflecting the multivaluedness of the dependence of coiling frequency on fall height. The data can be rescaled in a universal way, and agree very well with numerically predicted coiling frequencies.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

[Traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents at Salvador City, Bahia, Brazil].

OBJECTIVE: To verify the frequency of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the people between 0 and 19 years of age, in accordance to gender, age and cause of trauma. METHOD: Descriptive study made through a period of a year, in all TBI victims, aged until 19 years admitted in a reference trauma center. RESULTS: The sample had a total of 390 patients; 280 (71.8%) were boys. The main age of the victims was between 10 to 19 years (adolescents) with 177 patients (45.4%). The most common cause of trauma was height falls (34.4%). According to the Glasgow Coma Scale, 89% had suffered mild TBI. CONCLUSION: The main group of victims was the adolescents; the most important cause of TBI was height fall, with masculine predominance and mild trauma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Effect of elbow flexion on upper extremity impact forces during a fall.

OBJECTIVE: The overall objectives are to develop a biomechanical model for a simulated fall with outstretched hand. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study involving young healthy volunteers in a university research laboratory setting. BACKGROUND: Little is known about the factors which influence fracture risk during a fall on outstretched hand. METHODS: A group of 11 male subjects volunteered for this investigation. A set of eight reflective markers was placed bilaterally on selected anatomic landmarks. Subjects were suspended with both elbows extended and wrists dorsiflexed, preparing to impact the ground and force plates from two different fall heights: 3 and 6 cm. Two different postures for the elbows were employed. In the elbow extension experiment, the elbows were extended at all times. In the elbow flexion experiment, the elbows were extended at impact, but then flexed immediately, as though in the initial downward phase of a push-up exercise. RESULT: Increasing the fall height significantly increased the upper extremity axial forces by 10% and 5%. No significantly different differences were found in the axial forces applied to the wrist, elbow or shoulder between the elbow flexion and elbow extension trials, but the elbow mediolateral shear force was 68% larger (P=0.002) in the extension trials. CONCLUSIONS: Performing an elbow flexion movement at impact reduces the first peak impact force value and postpones the maximum peak value. Although changing the fall arrest strategy from elbow extension to elbow flexion did not affect the peak impact force on the hand, it did require substantially greater elbow and shoulder muscle strengths. RELEVANCE: This paper yields insights into how the physical demands of arresting mild falls may relate to upper extremity muscle capacity, joint dislocation and bony fracture.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2003

Biomechanical analysis of arm fracture in obese boys.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of the biomechanical factors of force of impact, bone strength, fall height and surface stiffness on the risk of forearm fracture in obese children compared to non-obese children. METHODOLOGY: Anthropometric and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry bone density data from 50 boys (25 obese pair-matched with 25 non-obese subjects) aged 4-17 years were entered into a rheological-stochastic simulation model of arm impact. RESULTS: Obese children were shown to be at 1.7 times greater risk of fracture compared to non-obese children. Lower fall heights and softer impact surfaces were found not to reduce the relative risk of fracture between obese and non-obese children. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental modifications are unlikely to lower the risk of arm fracture in obese children to the same levels experienced by non-obese children. The best option available for obese children to reduce fracture risk is to take steps to attain a healthy bodyweight.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2002

Risk factors for cervical and trochanteric hip fracture during a fall on the hip.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to elucidate factors related to hip fracture in patients who fall on the hip in order to identify those patients who might benefit from the use of hip protectors. DESIGN: The study was performed by comparing 146 persons who had fallen and sustained a soft tissue injury in the hip region with 146 cervical hip fracture and 146 trochanteric hip fracture patients matched for age, sex and place of residence. PATIENTS: The fall group was drawn from a prospectively collected cohort of 1,061 elderly people participating in an epidemiological survey on fall injuries; the fracture group was drawn from a prospectively recorded hip fracture database of the Oulu University Hospital (n = 1,714). OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic data, place and mechanism of falling, walking ability, associated diseases, medication. RESULTS: In a stepwise polychotomous conditional logistic regression analysis, the following significant and independent risk factors for both fracture types were seen: low weight, tall height, falling from standing height and respiratory disease. Falling indoors was a risk for only trochanteric fractures, while inability to walk alone outdoors was a risk for only cervical hip fractures. CONCLUSIONS: Elderly persons with low weight, tall height, respiratory disease, tendency to fall indoors and inability to walk alone outdoors should be candidates for the use of hip protectors.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed2006

Frequency of laryngeal and hyoid bone trauma in nonhomicidal cases who died after a fall from a height.

A retrospective study was carried out on 93 autopsy cases who died after a fall from a height. For each case, following parameters were reported: age, sex, manner of death, estimated height of fall, ground type, estimated site of primary impact, type of laryngeal and hyoid bone trauma, presence of associated local trauma in the neck and cephalic region. Mean age of the studied population was about 33 years. Sex ratio (men/women) was 1.8. Mean height of fall was about 15 m. Manner of death was, respectively, suicide and accident in 70 and 23 cases. The type of ground was concrete in 94% of the cases. The site of primary impact was, respectively, head, front of the body, back of the body, feet/lower limbs, and lateral body in 31, 26, 19, 12, and 5 cases. Cervical soft tissue bruising without laryngohyoid fractures was found in 5 cases. Laryngohyoid fractures were found in 5 cases. These fractures could be explained by direct impact of the neck structures against the ground. The mechanism of these fractures could also be indirect fractures due to high muscle strains on the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage due to cervical hyperflexion or hyperextension or secondary to mandible or cervical vertebral column fractures.

Accidental Falls↗