Article

Lateral stability during stepping is critical to successful balance recovery, and
has been previously studied from a kinematics perspective. However, relatively
little is known about the kinetic aspects of lateral stability. The purpose of
this paper is to investigate age-related changes in laterally directed landing
phase ground and joint reactions during a balance-restoring step response. 12
young and 13 older male adults were released from a static forward leaning
position and were instructed to take a single step with the dominant leg.
Laterally directed landing phase ground and ankle reactions, foot kinematics, and
center of mass movement were compared across age groups. No age-related
differences were observed in step width or center of mass behavior during step
landing. Older adults, compared to young, demonstrated larger laterally directed
landing phase ground and ankle reaction forces. The findings demonstrate an
age-related increase in kinetic, but not kinematic or stability measures,
suggesting that older adults do not minimize strength when maintaining stability
during a single step balance recovery maneuver.
CI - Copyright A(c) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS