ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2021 September;180(9):425-8

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.20.04334-X

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Effect of successful performance of a balance board test of the right and left directions on motor skills and fall experience in elderly females

Hiroki SUGIURA ✉, Takanori NOGUCHI, Tomohisa YOKOYA

Faculty of Sports and Health Sciences, Fukui University of Technology, Fukui, Japan

BACKGROUND: Some people cannot achieve or maintain a stable posture on an unstable stool, even the elderly with high independence in activities of daily living (ADL). Elderly women who cannot perform such movements by leaning sharply in the backward and forward directions have more fall experiences and poorer results on the one-leg standing (OLS) with open eyes test, walking ability, and ADL compared with the elderly individuals who can perform this movement. In this study, we examined differences between the elderly females who could maintain a stable posture on an unstable stool by leaning sharply in the right and left directions for 20 s (possible group [PG], N.=40) and those who could not maintain this posture (impossible group [IG], N.=52) for motor skills and fall experience.
METHODS: Motor skills included isometric leg strength, balance ability, and walking ability. Subjects were administered the above tests to determine their fall experience.
RESULTS: Compared with IG, PG was superior in the OLS test, but no significant difference was found for other parameters or fall experience between the groups.
CONCLUSIONS: The achievement possibility of a balance board test by leaning in the right and left directions may be related with falls and motor skills.

KEY WORDS: Exercise test; Accidental falls; Activities of daily living