Experiment trips up elderly to help them avoid falling

Researchers are tripping older people on purpose in an experiment to prevent falls, the leading cause of injury in older adults.

Falls among elderly people cost $30 billion (€22.7bn) yearly to treat and can send people spiralling into poor health and disability.

Conventional efforts to prevent falls include exercises to boost strength and balance, but researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago are trying a different approach. It’s based on promising, preliminary results with a lab-built walkway that causes people to unexpectedly trip, as if stepping on a banana peel.