Association Between Lower Extremity Muscular Strength And Functional Performance In Community-Dwelling Elderly

Abstract

The combination of aging with reduced muscle mass and muscle strength results in a higher risk of falls, hospitalizations, dependence, poorer quality of life, and all-cause mortality. Our hypothesis, in the present study, is that the elderly who present higher values in gait speed, as well as lower values in the Time Up and Go test, will have higher values of lower limb muscle strength. PURPOSE: To correlate functional capacity of walking and time up and go tests with the maximal isometric lower limb strength test in community-dwelling elderly. METHODS: Thirty-two elderly (2 men; age: 72 ± 9,2 yrs; body mass: 66 ± 10,6 kg; height: 152,27 ± 7,79 cm) who attended the Centro de Convivência do Idoso located in Paranoá, Brasília, DF participated. The tests were performed in an integrated and dynamic circuit format, where each station had a single evaluator. The maximal isometric muscle strength of lower limbs used the mid tight pull position where a traction dynamometer (E-lastic) was fixed to the ground by a metal chain and at its other end a hand strap. The elderly were instructed to perform their maximal concentric movement strength with semi-flexed knees and extended arms for 3-5 seconds with verbal encouragement. The muscle strength was measured in kilograms (kg). In the Walking Test (TC), the elderly should walk through the distance of 10m as fast as possible. Gait speed (m/s) was calculated. In the Time Up and Go (TUG) test, the elderly should get up from a chair without the aid of their arms and walk at a comfortable pace at a distance of three meters, get around an obstacle, return and sit again while time to end the task was measured. A Pearson correlation coefficient was determined between the maximum isometric strength test and the walking and time up and go tests. The statistical package adopted was SPSS (IBM, version 23). RESULTS: The findings revealed a significant and moderate correlation for gait speed and lower limb muscle strength (r = 0.391; p = 0.033) as well as the functional test and lower limb muscle strength level (r = -0.376; p = 0.041). CONCLUSION: Elderly who had higher lower limb strength values obtained the shortest times in the time up and go test and the highest gait speed in the walking test.