Influence of Muscle Fatigue on Balance Disturbance in a Stable Upright Position

Abstract

In order to identify the group of muscles related to deterioration of balance function in the elderly, an exploratory experiment was conducted to analyze and study the influence of lower limb muscular fatigue on balance disturbance in the stable upright position. A stabilometer and a multipurpose muscle function testing and training system were used to assess 12 normal healthy subjects. Evaluations were made using the total trajectory length and the trajectory length per unit area with the eyes-open for 30 seconds. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Ver. 13.0 with analysis of variance (repeated measures) at a significance level of below 5%. In the gluteus maximus muscles, the total trajectory length showed a significant downward trend while the trajectory length per unit area showed a significant upward trend.