Poster 58: Reduced hip extension in the elderly: dynamic or postural?

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether reduced hip extension and increased anterior pelvic tilt are dynamic gait phenomena that do not occur during normal standing posture. Design: Experiment. Setting: Gait laboratory. Participants: 25 elderly subjects (age, 71±4.7y) compared with 25 young adult subjects (age, 26±4.6y). Interventions: Subjects were observed during standing and walking at specific speeds while positions and kinematics of pelvics and lower extremities were measured using a 3-dimnesional optoelectronic analysis system. Main Outcome Measures: Peak hip extension and anterior pelvic tilt. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the elderly and young adult groups during standing with respect to either mean hip extension (2.7° vs 1.5°, respectively, P=.43) or mean anterior pelvic tilt (10.6° vs 10.4°, P=.85). On the other hand, consistent with prior studies, peak hip extension was significantly reduced and anterior pelvic tilt was increased in elderly subjects at all walking speeds compared with younger subjects ( P<.05 at all 3 walking speeds). Conclusions: Age-related changes in gait, characterized by reduced peak hip extension and increased anterior pelvic tilt, are dynamic rather than standing postural processes.