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H reflex latency in the healthy elderly
Author(s) -
Falco Frank J. E.,
Hennessey William J.,
Goldberg Gary,
Braddom Randall L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
muscle and nerve
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.025
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1097-4598
pISSN - 0148-639X
DOI - 10.1002/mus.880170205
Subject(s) - reflex , latency (audio) , medicine , audiology , h reflex , correlation , positive correlation , anesthesia , mathematics , geometry , electrical engineering , engineering
The purpose of this study was to evaluate prospectively and analyze the relationship of tibial nerve H reflex latency to age, sex, leg length, and skin temperature in a large healthy elderly population. The H reflex was recorded bilaterally in 92% of 103 carefully screened individuals aged 60–88 years. The mean H reflex latency was 30.8 (SD = 2.6) and 30.7 (SD = 2.6) ms for right and left legs, respectively. A high correlation ( r = 0.55, P < 0.05) was present between H reflex latency and leg length. No significant correlation existed for H reflex latency and age. The upper normal limit for the difference between right and left H reflex latencies was 1.8 ms. This limit is greater than that reported in the literature for younger individuals due to a larger standard deviation. These findings suggest that aging increases the between‐leg variability of H reflex latency in individuals. This greater difference must be taken into account when using side‐to‐side H reflex latency comparison to detect unilateral pathology in the elderly. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.