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Objective: Acknowledgement of the age effects on postural control and balance is essential to differentiate between physiological changes and actual pathological alterations of the elderly. The aim of this study is to establish the age-related postural changes recorded by the Computerized Dynamic Posturography.Material and Methods: 70 healthy individuals (35 males and 35 females) with an average age of 44.9 years, evenly distributed in seven age groups. We carried out a Sensory Organization Test and Limits of Stability with the Neurocom Smart Balance Master(®) posturography platform. Statistical analysis was undertaken using ANOVA (p<0.05).Results: Increased age-related balance percentage for Condition 4 (p=0.022), reduced usage rate of ankle-strategy for Conditions 3 (p=0.027) and 4 (p=0.05) for the higher age groups were reported. Regarding limits of stability, the following were the results: age-related differences at an early stage, reaction time from 40 to 49 years, velocity of movement, excursion and directional control from 50 to 59 years.Conclusions: Age only affects the balance rate under more complex sensory conditions. For healthy people, ankle strategy is more frequently used than hip strategy; however, the use of hip strategy increases under more difficult sensory conditions. Limits of stability get worse with age, namely after the age of 40-50 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The aim of this study is to determine whether clinical and instrumental examination of balance can predict the risk of falls in elderly patients with instability. Methods Study design : It is a case control study, with cases defined by falls in the last year, developed in a third level university hospital. Patients Seventy patients aged 65 years or more who met at least one of the following inclusion criteria: (a) at least one fall in the last year; (b) spend more than 15 s during the timed up and go test (TUG); (c) a score of less than 68% average balance in the sensory organisation test (SOT) of the computerised dynamic posturography (CDP); or (d) at least one fall in the CDP-SOT. Intervention : TUG test, CDP-SOT, CDP centre of gravity balancing (CG) and limits of stability (LOS), Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) test and short FES-I test. Main outcome measures : Number of steps and time (TUG), average balance and use of sensorial information (CDP-SOT), speed and directional control (CDP-CG and LOS), DHI score and short FES-I score. Results Comparing subjects without falls (non-fallers) vs subjects with at least one fall (fallers) in the last year, fallers obtain worse scores than non-fallers in condition 2 ( p = 0.043) and use of somatosensory information ( p = 0.039). Comparing subjects with five falls or less (non-multiple-fallers) vs subjects with more than five falls (multiple-fallers), multiple-fallers obtain worse scores than non-multiple-fallers in overall balance ( p = 0.023), condition 6 ( p = 0.036), directional control (swaying ( p = 0.006) and LOS ( p = 0.023)) and short FES-I score ( p = 0.007). Conclusion The three most useful parameters for identifying unstable elderly patients at particularly high risk of repeated falls are mean balance in the CDP SOT, directional control of CDP LOS and short FES-I score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear of falling (FOF) is a common problem among the elderly. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether there is a correlation between FOF, estimated via the short FES-I test, and objective evaluation of balance in a group of elderly patients with age-related instability . The balance of 139 subjects of more than 65 years of age is evaluated by the timed up and go test and the computerised dynamic posturography (CDP). Different groups of elderly patients were established according to the number of falls in the previous 12 months, and the correlation with short FES-I test scores was evaluated. Based on the results, ROC curves were calculated. The short FES-I test presents a good capacity to distinguish between subjects with ≤3 falls/year and subjects with ≥4 falls/year (AUC 0.719, 95%CI 0.627–0.810). A test score of 14.5 is the best cut-off point (74% sensitivity, 51% specificity). Using this cut-off point, the study sample comprises two groups: subjects with test scores of 7–14 vs 15–28, with the first group obtaining best results with statistical significance (Student’s t -test and the Mann–Whitney test) in most of the balance tests. The short FES-I is an excellent instrument that measures FOF in the elderly, and it is correlated with their number of falls both in real life and on the CDP. It is simple and fast, and so can be considered an extraordinary screening test relative to real risk of falls in the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]