Aging and Postural Control Flashcards
What two factors contribute to aging?
genetic 20%
environmental 80%
what are the primary factors for age-related decline?
consequence of lifestyle - physical activity
what are other secondary factors that contribute to age-related decline
inadequate nutrient intake
excess body weight
smoking
excessive alcohol intake
Is there a clear definition of old age? Is there a clear line between healthy/non-healthy aging?
nope
what is the continuum of physical function among older adults from least to most active?
(Definitely don’t fuck in flippers, ew)
disability
physically dependent
physically frail
physical independent
physically fit
physically elite
at what point on the continuum of physical function among older adults are your patients likely to be in?
physically dependent
physically frail
we use the ___________ tract to execute movement
corticospinal
where does our free will to decide movements come from?
we don’t know for sure but we think its the limbic system (emotion/memory)
what are the four main categories of motor system changes in postural control
MSK
change in steady-state balance
changes in reflexive postural control
changes in anticipatory postural control
what are the 2 main categories of sensory/perceptual changes in postural control with aging
changes in individual sensory systems
adapting senses for postural control
What are some changes with MSK?
- loss of muscle strength (and power)
- loss of ROM
- muscle power is more highly correlated with physical function than strength
what are some changes to steady state balance?
- increase sway in quiet stance
- increase in functional stability limits
changes in reactive balance control with aging
- use hip strategies rather than ankle
- longer latency to fire muscle
changes in adaptation
- increase muscle response amplitudes during large perturbation in old/unstable adults
- more oscillations
- increase time to stabilization
why is it bad there is an increased muscle response amplitude during large perturbations in older and unstable older adults compared to young adults
because muscle strength and power decrease with age so then they fall
what are the 4 compensatory stepping change in base of support strategies
- ankle strategy
- Hip strategy
- Stepping
- Reaching
what is the only stepping strategy that does not increase fall risk
side-step sequence
In anticipatory postural control, the ________ activates before the ___________
postural response muscle
prime mover
medium old and very old adults show ________ in both postural and prime mover muscle response onsets
significant slowing
what are some age related changes in somatosensory components
loss of vibration sense
loss of proprioception
decreased sensation
what are some age related changes in vision
loss of acuity
loss of depth perception
loss of contrast sensitivity
what are some age related changes in the vestibular system
20-40% loss of hair cells after 70
loss of neurons in vestibular nuclei
somatosensory: delay activation of muscle and increase muscle onset latency in people with__________
neuropathy
do older adults have more postural sway with eyes open or closed
closed
when is the vestibular system most important for balance control?
when the visual and somatosensory systems give conflicting information
why is attention limited?
think bottle neck theory
what are the two main theories of duel-task interference
- perceptual processing (physiological) limitation i.e. bottleneck
- central processing (neural/machinery) limitations
______ response to a secondary cognitive task is fast than _______
young adults
old adults
if sensory information is decreased, reaction times become significantly longer for?
both young and older adults but more so older adults
sway was _______ in the older faller compared to the nonfaller
larger
older faller ___________ postural sway compared to older nonfaller during dual-task performance
significantly increased
___________ took a longer time to regain stable posture in the duel-task condition than in the single postural task alone
balance impaired older adults
def of fall
- an unintentional loss of balance that leads to failure of postural stability
or - sudden and unexpected change in position which usually results in landing on the floor
def of recurrent faller
those who have fallen two or more times in either 6 or 12 months
should a fall without injury still be considered a fall?
duh, yes
T or F: all studies looking at fall incident data have an operational definition of falling
apparently not. stupid. false
what are the top three causes of falls in elderly adults
1 - accident/environment related
2 - gait/balance disorders or weakness
3 - dizziness/vertigo
what are the top 3 individual risk factors for falls
1 - weakness
2 - balance deficit
3 - gait deficit
T or F: PTs alone should be responsible for falls prevention
false, fall prevention is a multidiscipline teamwork issue
