Article
Balance, reaction time, and muscle strength in exercising and nonexercising older women: A pilot study

https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-9993(93)90010-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Twenty-one women, aged 57 to 75 years, who had been taking part in exercise programs for periods of 12 months or more underwent tests of muscle strength, reaction time, proprioception, and body sway. The performance of these women in the tests was compared with 21 women of the same age who were not taking part in any organized physical activity and were not exercising more than 30 minutes a day. The women who had been taking part in the exercise program performed significantly better in the tests of quadriceps strength, reaction time, and sway on a compliant surface than the nonexercising women. The exercisers also had lower body mass index scores. These pilot results suggest that exercise may play a role in improving a number of sensori-motor systems that contribute to stability, and that exercise of this nature may help prevent falls in older women.

References (23)

  • KM Gorman et al.

    Benefits of exercise in old age

    Clin Geriatr Med

    (1988)
  • A Aniansson et al.

    Effect of a training programme for pensioners on conditioning and muscle strength

    Arch Gerontol Geriat

    (1984)
  • RE Dustman et al.

    Aerobic exercise training and improved neuropsychological function of older individuals

    Neurobl Aging

    (1984)
  • AJ Campbell et al.

    Risk factors for falls in a community-based prospective study of people 70 years and older

    J Geront

    (1989)
  • AS Robbins et al.

    Predictors of falls among elderly people. Results of two population-based studies

    Arch Intern Med

    (1989)
  • TE Kennedy et al.

    The prevention of falls in later life

    Danish Medical Bulletin

    (1987)
  • AA Vandervoort et al.

    Plantarflexor muscle function in young and elderly women

    Eur J Appl Physiol

    (1989)
  • P Era et al.

    Postural sway during standing and unexpected disturbance of balance in random samples of men of different ages

    J Geront

    (1985)
  • R Gottsdanker

    Age and simple RT

    J Geront

    (1982)
  • FR Finley et al.

    Locomotion patterns in elderly women

    Arch Phys Med Rehabil

    (1969)
  • BA Stamford

    Exercise and the elderly

    Exerc Sport Sci Rev

    (1988)
  • Cited by (89)

    • Effects of an unstable shoe construction on balance in women aged over 50 years

      2010, Clinical Biomechanics
      Citation Excerpt :

      Numerous interventions have been tested as a means of maintaining or improving balance in older adults. These include general exercise programs (Lord et al., 1993; Lichtenstein et al., 1989; Brauer et al., 2008), water exercise (Kaneda et al., 2008), Tai Chi (Xu et al., 2005), dance (Wallmann et al., 2009; Alpert et al., 2009) and training on unstable platforms (Nordt et al., 1999; Waddington and Adams, 2004). Balance intervention programs have focused on measuring different aspects of balance.

    • Evaluation of circumferential pressure as an intervention to mitigate postural instability induced by localized muscle fatigue at the ankle

      2009, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
      Citation Excerpt :

      These measures do not account for dynamic characteristics nor do they capture subtle aspects of postural control. Such measures have, however, been shown to be sensitive to the effects of age (Prieto et al., 1996), sensory conditions (Lord et al., 1993), and LMF (Yaggie and McGregor, 2002). Additionally, COP-based measures have been shown to be predictive of falling risk (Fernie et al., 1982).

    • The effect of a single session submaximal aerobic exercise on premotor fraction of reaction time: An electromyographic study

      2008, Clinical Biomechanics
      Citation Excerpt :

      Age, gender, level of physical fitness, educational status of the subjects; exercise intensity, type and duration; difficulty of tasks used to measure RT and time (during exercise, after exercise) and methods to measure RT vary to a great extent among studies. Most of the studies use computer based methods to measure RT instead of electromyography (Lord et al., 1993; Lord and Castell, 1994; Arcelin et al., 1998; Brisswalter et al., 1997; Arcelin and Brisswalter, 1999; Collardeau et al., 2001a,b; Whitehurst, 1991). Such techniques yield total reaction time rather than premotor time (Crabtree and Antrim, 1988).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text