Abstract
[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate factors affecting body sway during brisk walking in the elderly. The effects of knee extension strength, toe-grip strength, and hand-grip strength on body sway were analyzed.[Methods] Sixty-six community-dwelling, elderly women participated in this study. Body sway was measured using a small wireless accelerometer. Three-axis acceleration during brisk walking over 5- m was recorded. Accelerometers were firmly fixed using a dedicated belt at the level of the third lumbar vertebra. Vertical, anteroposterior, and mediolateral sway were calculated by acceleration waveform. The effects of knee extension strength, toe-grip strength,and hand-grip strength on body sway were examined using the Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. [Results] Vertical sway demonstrated significant positive correlations with knee extension strength, toe-grip strength, and hand-grip strength. Anteroposterior sway demonstrated significant positive correlations with toegrip strength. Conversely, mediolateral sway did not demonstrate significant correlations with any muscle. In the analyses of vertical sway and anteroposterior sway, only the toegrip strength was a statistically significant contributor.[Conclusion] It may be possible to predict body sway using toe-grip strength in the elderly.
