Effect of Acute Fatigue of the Hip Abductors on Control of Balance in Young and Older Women

Abstract 

Bellew JW, Panwitz BL, Peterson L, Brock MC, Olson KE, Staples WH. Effect of acute fatigue of the hip abductors on control of balance in young and older women.

Objective

To examine the effects of acute fatigue of the hip abductors on the control of balance in young and older women.

Design

Pretest-posttest.

Setting

University research laboratory.

Participants

Healthy young women (n=20; age, 23.0±1.5y; height, 166.52±4.5cm; mass, 65.33±10.5kg) and community-dwelling older women (n=20; age, 71.65±7.2y; height, 162.31±3.8cm; mass, 71.16±11.6kg) without a fall history.

Intervention

Measurements of control of single-limb balance before and after fatiguing the hip abductors of the dominant leg.

Main Outcome Measure

Performance on 3 clinical assessments of control of balance: the modified Functional Reach Test in the forward, left, and right directions; the Lower-Extremity Reach Test in forward and lateral directions; and the Single-Limb Stance Time Test (SLSTT).

Results

Although the younger subjects showed a significantly greater control of balance than the older women in most tests, control of balance after acute fatigue failed to show a significant decline in either age group. The only exception to this was the SLSTT in the younger women in whom a significant 26% decline was noted (P<.05).

Conclusions

Acute fatigue of the hip abductors did not result in a decreased control of balance in healthy young or older women without fall history. Despite considerable changes in movement strategies used to complete the postfatigue tests of balance, quantitative measures of balance did not decrease.

Key Words: Aging, Fatigue, Hip, Rehabilitation

List of Abbreviations: ICC, intraclass correlation coefficient, LERT, Lower-Extremity Reach Test, mFRT, modified Functional Reach Test, ROM, range of motion, SLSTT, Single-Limb Stance Time Test