Association between Trunk Muscle Strength and Fall Risk in Older Men and Women with Lumbar Spondylosis.

Tadashi Ito,Yoshifumi Morita,Keitaro Kawai,Hideshi Sugiura,Kazunori Yamazaki,Yoshihito Sakai

doi:10.3390/healthcare9050521

Abstract

Various factors significantly affect the risk of falls among older adults with lumbar spondylosis. However, the relationship between falls and trunk muscle strength in older men is poorly explored. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between back muscle strength and fall risk in older men and women with lumbar spondylosis. Based on self-reported fall scores, 39 outpatients were classified into two groups. Back and abdominal muscle strength, among other data, were compared between the two groups. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between fall scores and selected variables. Back (r = −0.491, p = 0.002) and abdominal muscle strength (r = −0.415, p = 0.009) were related to the fall score. Furthermore, back and abdominal muscle strength were related to the fall score in women with a high risk of falls, whereas back muscle strength, erector spinae, and lumbar multifidus cross-sectional areas, and visual analog scale were related to the fall score in men with a high risk of falling. Back muscle strength and fall scores may be useful to assess the risk of falls in older patients with lumbar spondylosis. However, evaluating this relationship may require separate sex-specific analyses.

Highlights

Falls are a major risk for disability in the growing number of older adults in developed countries, and they are commonly observed among older adults and are related with increased disability [1]
No significant differences were observed in the fall score, 25(OH)D, HbA1c, back muscle strength, L4/5 lumbar multifidus, and paraspinal muscle cross-sectional areas, SVA, and center of pressure (COP) between the two groups (Tables 1 and 2)
Results of Spearman’s rank correlation analysis indicated that in older men and women with lumbar spondylosis, back muscle strength and abdominal muscle strength were significantly correlated with the fall score (Table 3)

Summary

Introduction

Falls are a major risk for disability in the growing number of older adults in developed countries, and they are commonly observed among older adults and are related with increased disability [1]. Approximately 30% of older adults experience a fall annually [2,3]. Spinal disorders are associated with various symptoms, such as the difficulty of standing in an upright position, muscle weakness, decreased mobility, and increased risk of fall [4,5,6]. Previous studies have reported a relation between spine angle and fall among communitydwelling older adults [7,8]. A decreased L4/5 lumbar multifidus cross-sectional area and increased postural sway excursion may increase the risk of falling in older adults with lumbar spinal stenosis [9]

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Discussion

Conclusion