Evaluating the effects of open/closed eyes and age-related differences on center of foot pressure sway during stepping at a set tempo

Hiroki Aoki,Yu Uchida,Hiroki Sugiura,Ning Xu,Shinichi Demura,Haruka Kawabata,Hitoshi Murase

doi:10.4236/aar.2012.13009

Hiroki Aoki, Yu Uchida + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.4236/aar.2012.13009

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Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effects of open/ closed eyes and age difference on Center of Foot Pressure (COP) sway during stepping. The subjects were 87 healthy males aged 10 - 80 years. COP was measured 20 times when subjects stepped on two force plates (left and right) at a rate of 60 steps/min. The evaluation parameters selected were: total trace length, velocity, circumference, rectangular area，left-right width, and front-back width. The former four of these parameters were found to be significantly lower with eyes open than eyes closed in 80-year-old subjects, while the last parameter was significantly lower with eyes open in 10-year-old subjects. In 70- and 80-year-old subjects with eyes open, circumference was greater than that in 10- and 40 - 60-year-old subjects; their rectangular area was greater than that in 50- and 60-year-old subjects; and, their front-back width was greater than that in 10- and 30 - 60-year-old subjects. With eyes closed, circumference, rectangular area, left-right width, and front-back width in 80-year- old subjects, were greater than those in 10 - 70- year-old subjects. The front-back width during stepping with eyes closed was greater in 70- and 80-year-old subjects than in 30 - 50-year-old subjects. The Romberg quotient for all COP sway parameters revealed no significant age-related differences. From our findings, a difference in body sway was observed in 80-year-old subjects (with eyes open/closed) when compared with the other age groups. In addition, the extent of sway varied little among 80 year-old- subjects have greater body sway during stepping, particularly with eyes closed.

Highlights

Posture control during standing is closely related to basic human movements such as walking and standing up
Center of Foot Pressure (COP) sway during standing has a close relationship with static balance [3,4,5], and sway characteristics have been studied in various age groups from infants to the elderly [5,6]
Using COP sway during stepping, Ohnishi et al [7] evaluated dynamic balance of the movements that change the support base such as walking and ascending and descending stairs. They examined the age-related differences in total trace length of COP sway at 80%, 70%, and 60% of Maximum Step Length (MSL) of the Rapid Step Test (RST) and reported that RST was greater in the elderly than in the young under all MSL conditions

Summary

Introduction

Posture control during standing is closely related to basic human movements such as walking and standing up. Using COP sway during stepping, Ohnishi et al [7] evaluated dynamic balance of the movements that change the support base such as walking and ascending and descending stairs. They examined the age-related differences in total trace length of COP sway at 80%, 70%, and 60% of Maximum Step Length (MSL) of the Rapid Step Test (RST) and reported that RST was greater in the elderly than in the young under all MSL conditions. Most developed nations comprise a greater proportion of individuals >80 years in their population. These individuals are able to live independently, they tend to become unstable even while

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