Fall impacts from standing show equivalence between experts in stage combat landing strategy and naïve participants after training

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Slips, trips, and falls are the second leading cause of non-fatal injuries in workplace in the United States. A stage combat landing strategy is used in the theatre arts to reduce the risk of fall-induced injury, and may be a viable approach among some working populations. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to compare fall impact characteristics between experts in stage combat landing strategy and naïve participants after four training sessions of stage combat landing strategy training. METHODS: Forward and backward falls from standing were induced by releasing participants from static leans. Participants fell onto a foam mat, and impact force was measured using force platforms under the mat. A statistical equivalence test was used to determine if impact characteristics between groups were similar. RESULTS: Results indicated equivalence between groups in peak impact force during backward but not forward falls. Equivalence between groups in impact time suggested a mechanism by which equivalence in peak impact force as achieve. CONCLUSIONS: Four training sessions was sufficient for naïve participants to exhibit fall impact characteristics similar to experts in an anecdotally-effective landing strategy, and support further study. To our knowledge, this was the first study to investigate training for a landing strategy involving stepping after losses of balance from standing.