Source
Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences & Medical
Sciences.
54(1):M44-50, 1999 Jan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous work has found that healthy older men were
significantly less able than young male adults
to recover balance by taking a single rapid step upon sudden release
from forward leans. In light of the higher rates of
falls and fall-related injuries among older women compared to older
men, we hypothesized that healthy older women
would perform more poorly than either female young adults or older
men in this test of abilities to recover balance
rapidly. METHODS: Ten young (mean age 25.0 years) and 10 older (73.7
years) healthy women were released from
forward leans and instructed to regain standing balance by taking a
single step forward. The lean angle was incrementally
increased from its smallest value, approximately 14 degrees, until
the subject failed to regain balance as instructed.
Lower extremity kinematics were measured, and findings were compared
with those of the earlier study of healthy young
and old men. RESULTS: Five of the 10 older women could not recover
balance with a single step after release from
the smallest of the imposed forward leans. For the 5 older women who
succeeded in recovering as instructed from at
least one lean, the mean maximum lean angle was significantly smaller
than that for young women (16.2 degrees vs 30.7
degrees, p < .001) or older men (16.2 degrees vs 23.9 degrees, p =
.014). In contrast, there was no significant
difference in mean maximum lean angle between female and male young
adults. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy older
women, compared to either young women or older men, were
significantly less able to recover balance by taking a single
rapid step during a forward fall. The decreased abilities of older
women appeared to result from limitations in the
maximum speeds at which they moved their swing foot during recovery.