Lower extremity muscle strength and balance performance in indian community dwelling elderly men aged 50 years and above Aggarwal Sadashiv Ram1,*, Lecturer in Physiotherapy, Kumar Deepak2, Doctorate Student 1Intitute of Public Health and Hygiene, Mahipal Pur, New Delhi. 2University of Delawore, U.S. *Reprint request: A-28, Sunlight Colony No-II, Near Ashram, New delhi-110014. Phone: 09891495118, 01126345978.
Abstract Background and purpose Age related changes in posture and gradual decrease in lower extremity muscle strength increase risk of falls in elderly. Subjects 43 community-dwelling voluntary males between 50–80 participated. Methods Cross sectional observational study included the measurements of Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Reach Test (FRT) and the Timed Get-up and Go-Test (GUG). The force generated by 4 lower limb muscle groups was measured using strain gauge. Result Age is negatively correlated with balance performance and with muscle force production. The toque production of hip extensors (predict FRT and GUG scores) and knee extensors (predict BBS score) can serve to predict balance performance on certain scales, and have an important contribution in the maintenance of balance in older adults. Conclusion: - marked deficits in strength and balance performance found among senior citizens which need to be rule out in advance through various measures, as the present study emphasized the importance of predicting the score of FRT and GUG by hip extensors and BBS by knee extensors and hence suggesting the muscle involved in prediction differ depending on the measure of balance. Top |