Article

The variability of the centre of pressure (COP) movement is a tool that is often
used for stability assessments during standing; however, this variable can
provide relevant findings during dynamic conditions, which are more related to
fall risks. The aim of this study was to investigate age-related differences in
the variability of COP movement. Healthy young (younger group - 25 subjects, age
22.2 +/- 1.8 years) and middle-aged (elder group - 25 subjects, age 56.6 +/- 4.9
years) females participated in this study. The ground reaction forces and COP
movement during walking at a self-selected speed were recorded using two force
platforms. Each stance phase was divided into four subphases: loading response
(LR), mid-stance (MSt), terminal stance (TSt) and preswing (PS). Standard
deviations of the medial-lateral, anterior-posterior and total COP displacements
were assessed. For statistical comparisons, one-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni
post-hoc test were used. These results showed significantly higher COP movement
variability in selected variables in the PS, LR and MSt subphases in the elder
group (p < 0.05) compared with the younger group; no differences were found in
the TSt subphase. A comparison of the subphases within the groups revealed
significant differences (p < 0.001 for all cases and both groups) between the
parameters in the LR x MSt, LR x TSt, MSt x PS and TStxPS subphases. The LR and
PS subphases showed significantly higher values for the variability parameters.
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Langue : ANGLAIS