抄録
The purpose of this study is to prove that the characteristics of the stepping reaction from the center of foot pressure (CFP) deflection toward the lateral direction in the elderly are related to muscular strength. Nine elderly people and eleven young students participated in this study. A subject stepped toward the lateral direction on a force plate. We measured CFP deflection characteristics of the subjects in the two groups. We measured muscular strength from the trunk to the foot using a hand-held dynamometer. We compared the CFP deflection characteristics between the two age groups. Furthermore, we observed a correlation between the muscular strength and CFP deflection characteristics in the single stance phase, which recognized a pathognomonic difference between the two groups. As compared with the young group, the elderly group showed significantly low values of deflection speed and standard deviation of deflection speed. It was suggested that the antigravity muscle extending from the planta pedis to the trunk contributed to the control of CFP deflection speed in the elderly group. Furthermore, it was suggested that the unsteadiness in the elderly was a result of a decrease in the CFP control ability due to the depression of the feedback mechanism of the sensory system with aging.
