Aging reduces the ability to change grip force and balance control simultaneously

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the change in the fingertip forces and balance control of young adults and older adults. The subjects lifted an object of constant weight (i.e., 1500 g) using their right hand, first in a seated position and then in a standing position. We quantified the ability of the participants to adjust their fingertip forces across trials by comparing the percentage of change in the peak grip force, peak load force and the ratio between peak grip force and peak load force. Moreover, we quantified their ability to stabilize their balance following the lifting of the object in the standing condition. The results showed that in both conditions young adults reduced their peak grip force much more than older adults across trials. In the seated condition, young adults increased slightly their peak load force, across trials, while older adults reduced it. In the standing condition, both groups showed similar change in peak load force across trials. Remarkably, older adults improved their balance stability similarly to young adults in the standing condition. This observation suggests that the ability of the older adults to modulate grip force applied to an object while standing is diminished probably to dedicate more attention to the balance control task rather than fine-tuning the grip force. Reducing balance instability following repetitive lifting is certainly more beneficial as the consequences of a fall could be more dramatic than dropping a cup of coffee.