Abstract
The purpose of this study is to clarify the factors related to various gait parameters in community dwelling elderly. Eighty-Eight elderly (over the age of 65) women participated in this study. We measured body height, body weight, gait parameters (gait speed, stride length, stance time, and step width) and physical functions (knee-extension strength, foot-gripping strength, hand-gripping strength, sit-up test, sitting trunk flexion and one-leg standing). The results of correlation analysis between each gait parameter and each physical function indicated as below: 1) knee-extension strength, foot-gripping strength and one-leg standing were significantly correlated with each gait parameters. 2) Moreover, body height was correlated with gait speed and stride length. Hand-gripping strength and sit-up test were correlated with gait speed and stance time. These finding suggest that the lower extremity strength and balance ability were the most relevant factor of each gait parameters. Moreover, the gait speed might need to adjust bybodyheight.
