Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of former athleticism and current activity status on static and dynamic postural balance in older adults. Fifty-six subjects participated in four study groups including former athletes, currently active (AA; n = 15; 69.1 ± 4.4 years.; 77.8 ± 9.8 kg), former athletes, currently inactive (AI; n = 12; 66.7 years.; 87.2 ± 15.1 kg), controls currently active (CA; n = 14; 68.6 ± 4.5 years.; 73.9 ± 15 kg), and controls currently inactive (CI; n = 15; 72.8 ± 4.8 years; 81.1 ± 14.8). All subjects were tested for height, weight, flexibility, thigh circumference, and static (sharpened Romberg/unipedal stance), and dynamic (step length and width) balance tests. The sharpened Romberg (eyes open) test showed that AA (60.0 ± 0 s) and CA (59.4 ± 0.5 s) balanced significantly longer than AI (41.5 ± 7.2 s), and CI (41.8 ± 6.1 s) ( p < 0.05). The unipedal (eyes open) test balance scores for AA, CA, AI, and CI were respectively 40.0 ± 4.5, 55.1 ± 3.4, 33.0 ± 7.1, and 27.5 ± 6.1 s, with CA significantly better than CI ( p < 0.05). In dynamic balance AA and CA (746.1 ± 28.0 and 724.6 ± 24.3 mm) showed significantly longer step lengths ( p < 0.05) than CI (643.7 ± 26.5 mm). The eyes closed test results for relative group comparisons were similar. Overall, two-way analysis of variance showed a significant activity main effect for all dependent variables measured ( p < 0.05). The results indicated that current activity status plays a key role on balance performance in older adults. Furthermore, former athletic activity history provides no protection for the age related onset of postural imbalance.
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