WE RING TRUE | MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

MSU Neuromechanics Lab Works to Reduce Falls, Prevent Injury and Promote Safety

When Harish Chander joined the Mississippi State Department of Kinesiology in 2014, he got the keys to a former classroom in McCarthy Gymnasium. The space was mostly empty, but full of potential for a laboratory that would generate new knowledge of neuromechanics—a science that combines neurology and biomechanics to explain human movement.

Today, the space is filled with state-of-the-art biomechanics equipment and students of all levels conducting research that will help reduce falls in the workplace and with the elderly, identify potential workplace safety hazards, improve athletic performance, and help children with special needs improve their movement patterns.

"The goal of all this is to address and prevent falls, promote safety and avoid injuries,” Chander said. “We’re addressing a diverse real-world population. Research that we’re doing also turns into evidence-based practice for physical therapists, occupational therapists, ergonomists, occupational nurses and other health care professionals."

When a person slips or falls, some broad details of what caused the incident are immediately known, like whether the surface was slick or a step was missed. It’s the small details of what happens before and during a fall that interest MSU Neuromechanics Laboratory researchers.

To have a comprehensive analysis, they use a 3D motion capture system. It’s the same concept used by Hollywood studios to bring action heroes to life in movies like “The Avengers.” While the studios animate the captured movement for cinematic feats, researchers at Mississippi State use their recorded images to study how the body responds to different environments and falls.

“We have done successful research on preventing falls in occupational settings such as construction, roofing, military and firefighting, as well as in geriatric populations,” Chander said. “Falls are the top cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in occupational and geriatric populations. We are trying to prevent injuries from happening in the first place.”

In the lab, researchers use glycerol to create a slippery environment similar to what workers might see in a restaurant, food processing facility, automotive shop or other environments. They then have test subjects walk and move on that slick surface with and without knowledge of the environment to examine how the body responds to those conditions over time.

The MSU researchers are also using digital environments for study. The lab recently acquired virtual reality equipment that is being used to virtually place people in settings such as roofing and construction sites and could be incorporated into training for companies.

“If you want to prevent yourself from falling, you need to get exposed to falling in a controlled environment,” Chander said. “Construction and roofing have high rates of fatal injuries, in part because workers are being recruited with no prior experience. Virtual reality can let them safely practice being in that environment.”