2012 Volume 25 Issue 2 Pages 167-176
This study aims at getting fundamental knowledge useful for instructing fitness exercise for elderly people’s saftyagainst-overturning. The investigation was carried out, by targeting elderly people, by measuring Functional Reach (FR) and Center of Pressure Excursion (COPE) combined with stepping-forward motion. Together with the usual FR, ‘Functional Reach and Forward-Stepping Follow-up’ (FR-FS), where the action of stepping forward following FR is analyzed, were used. Subjects are 18 women (average age 72.0 ± 4.0 years). Two tests were performed: one was a usual FR test, and the other was an FR-FS test. There, FR lengths and the most forward positions in COPE were measured, and the follow-up motion was video-recorded.
The results are as follows.
1. The values of FR and the most forward positions in COPE are significantly larger for FR-FS than for FR (respectively, p＝0.005 and 0.025). As for FR values and the most forward positions in COPE, there is a strong correlation between FR and FR-FS (respectively, r＝0.887 and 0.840). This fact suggests that the FR-FS can possibly be used for a method to measure dynamical balancing ability.
2. The FR-FS can be classified into two categories from the characteristics of the movement, an ‘anteversion-stepping’ type and a ‘standing-posture-stepping’ type. In the former, stepping-forward motion is initiated in the unbalanced condition keeping anteversion. While in the latter, an action to restore the standing posture is observed as in FR.
As a result of comparison and analysis between FR and FR-FS, the following has been suggested. Mere measurements of measurable muscle strength and balancing ability are not enough. Studies of measurement methods which have a relationship to the actual body movement to avoid overturning are thought to be necessary.
