This podcast explores a conceptual and theoretical paper proposing that some chronic physical issues observed in older adults—including fear of falling, balance impairment, gait instability, and joint degeneration—may be influenced by preverbal somatic adaptations formed during infancy. The discussion introduces the concept of DOVE ACEs (Developmental Overwhelm, Vulnerability, and Exclusion), a proposed category of early developmental experiences characterized not by explicit autobiographical memories but by embodied adaptations arising from insufficient caregiver attunement, containment, and co-regulation during critical periods of development.
Throughout the episode, the podcast examines how the paper integrates findings from neuroscience, developmental psychology, trauma theory, attachment research, and movement science to propose that these early relational experiences may become encoded as implicit protective motor patterns that persist across the lifespan. It explores the paper's hypothesis that a subtle backward postural lean and a progressive loss of biotensegrity may contribute to changes in balance, gait, and fall risk later in life.
The podcast also discusses the paper's emphasis that these proposed relationships have not yet been empirically established and should be understood as a theoretical framework rather than scientific proof. Finally, the episode examines how this framework provides the conceptual basis for the Fear of Falling Procedure, an exploratory, trauma-informed intervention designed to investigate whether mindful awareness and movement practices may help reorganize deeply embedded protective motor strategies while generating hypotheses for future research.
Reconceptualizing Fall Risk Across the Lifespan: A Developmental Biotensegrity Framework Integrating Embodied Trauma
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18423887
