Article

Reaching is an important component of daily activities with goals to interact and
acquire objects in the environment. The task context of reaching, as determined
by the behavioral goal and the properties of the object, can influence the
control of posture and movements. This study examined age differences in postural
stability during a forward reach under two task contexts, grasping versus
pointing to a target. Young and older participants living in the community
performed the tasks from the standing position. They reached forward, grasped or
pointed to a target, and then returned to an upright posture as fast as possible.
Postural stability was analyzed using the center of pressure (COP) during two
phases of the task: the reaching movement phase and the returning movement phase.
In the grasping context, the COP path deviations were significantly larger in
older compare to young participants during both the reach and the return movement
phases. In addition, during the return movement phase, only older participants
showed a context-dependent increase in COP path deviations after grasping
compared to pointing. The results highlight the impact of task context on
postural stability during standing reach in young and older adults. Interventions
for older adults with balance problems should consider incorporating activities
that involve the interaction with objects of various properties in the
environment. Future studies are necessary to investigate the factors underlying
the person-environment interplay of postural control and the adaptation of
anticipatory postural control associated with object interaction during
functional tasks in older adults.
CI - Copyright (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS