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A Comparison between the Behaviour of Young and Older Subjects During the Functional Reach Test
Author(s) -
Monteleone L.,
Pettinelli S.,
Steindler R.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
strain
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.477
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1475-1305
pISSN - 0039-2103
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-1305.2007.00388.x
Subject(s) - test (biology) , displacement (psychology) , balance (ability) , aptitude , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , mathematics , medicine , physical therapy , audiology , developmental psychology , paleontology , psychotherapist , biology
The importance of the functional reach (FR) test as an indication of the aptitude of subjects to maintain their balance in an upright position is recalled and the results of tests reported in the literature, which have been performed on young and older subjects (healthy or affected by pathologies), are cited. It is highlighted that in such studies, in addition to determining the value of the FR, the displacement of the centre of pressure is also determined. As a result a new series of tests on 40 healthy subjects, 20 young and 20 older subjects is proposed, concentrating on the equipment used, in particular on a sensor to map the pressure instead of a force platform, and on the possibility of performing the tests at different speeds. The results show a notable decline in performance with age, which is largely supported by a Student's t ‐test, and also a partial decrease in performance with the speed of the test. Within the two populations, the influence of gender is observed in the better performance of the male subject but considering the difference in height, the different performances linked to this aspect cannot be considered significant. A comparison of our results with those reported in the literature shows good qualitative agreement (but not from a quantitative point of view); so the need of a correct control of the method of performing the test is underlined.