Physical function among older subgroups who are physically active

Objective: To analyze how the neuromuscular ability to produce force (maximal isotonic and explosive force), by lower limb and back muscles, contributes to explain the balance capacity in healthy elders. The analysis considers the age and gender of the participants. Material and Method: one hundred and thirteen healthy older participated in the present study were common physical test were instrumentalized (lumbar extension, functional reach test and get up and go test) to measure maximal force and balance. The analysis was developed considering gender and age of the participants. Results: considering the age and gender of the participants, it could argue that older people show different responses to the same stimuli, providing higher performance by younger men and lower performance by older women. Furthermore, significant correlations were found between variables and the ability to perform functional task and neuromuscular force test between 0.497 and 0.811 for women subgroup and between 0.416 and 0.833 for men subgroup. Conclusions: There are two negative conditions that affect the performance of functional tasks that analyze the strength or balance of people: Gender, the yield in less women than men, and age where older elderly showed lower performance on the tasks requested. © 2015, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid y CV Ciencias del Deporte. All rights reserved