Dynamic Trunk Stability During Sitting in Young and Elderly Individuals

Objective : It is difficult to precisely define trunk balance in standing position because postural sway is controlled by the lower limbs. Therefore, we safely determined trunk balance in sitting position using a new device. Materials & Methods : Twenty-eight healthy elderly volunteers and Twenty-eight healthy young volunteers were participated. Postural sway was measured while seated using a new balance device. The device inclines the seat to the right and left 0.6 Hz. A force plate underneath a seat slanted to a maximum of 3° tracks the location of the center of pressure. We evaluated locus length (LNG), locus length/second (LNG/TIME), enveloped area (ENV-AREA), root mean square area (RMS-AREA) and locus length per unit area (LNG/AREA). Result : Values for LNG, LNG/TIME, ENV-AREA, and RMS-AREA were significantly worse for the elderly, compared with the young group (p