Open AccessRapid Assessment of Age-Related Differences in Standing Balance
Author(s) -
Tobias Kalisch,
Jan-Christoph Kattenstroth,
Sebastian Noth,
Martin Tegenthoff,
Hubert R. Dinse
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of aging research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.564
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 2090-2212
pISSN - 2090-2204
DOI - 10.4061/2011/160490
Subject(s) - falling (accident) , balance (ability) , medicine , life expectancy , displacement (psychology) , falls in older adults , physical medicine and rehabilitation , center of pressure (fluid mechanics) , balance test , gerontology , fear of falling , physical therapy , poison control , injury prevention , environmental health , psychology , engineering , population , aerodynamics , psychotherapist , aerospace engineering
As life expectancy continues to rise, in the future there will be an increasing number of older people prone to falling. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for comprehensive testing of older individuals to collect data and to identify possible risk factors for falling. Here we use a low-cost force platform to rapidly assess deficits in balance under various conditions. We tested 21 healthy older adults and 24 young adults during static stance, unidirectional and rotational displacement of their centre of pressure (COP). We found an age-related increase in postural sway during quiet standing and a reduction of maximal COP displacement in unidirectional and rotational displacement tests. Our data show that even low-cost computerized assessment tools allow for the comprehensive testing of balance performance in older subjects
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