Frequency analysis of the center of pressure in tandem stance in community-dwelling elderly.
Makoto Suzuki, Hiroyuki Fujisawa, Hiroto Suzuki and 3 others
PMID 28603354WHAT IT FOUND
Elderly women who struggled to hold tandem stance for 20 seconds had less very fast pressure movement under their feet, side to side and front to back, than women who held it.
Key findings
01Women who had difficulty holding tandem stance had significantly smaller very fast center-of-pressure power in both side-to-side and front-to-back directions.
02In the side-to-side direction, very fast center-of-pressure power was 1.7% in the able group and 0.4% in the difficulty group.
03In the front-to-back direction, very fast center-of-pressure power was 2.1% in the able group and 1.1% in the difficulty group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only 18 able and 11 difficulty participants were studied, all community-dwelling women without neurological or orthopedic conditions affecting standing. The groups were defined by whether they could hold the stance, so the pressure difference may simply reflect failing the task rather than an independent balance marker. Each participant was measured once, and the tester spoke to them and asked them to correct pressure position, which could affect performance. Participants who could hold the posture but whose pressure moved outside the target zone were excluded, so the analysis may not represent all older adults who can hold tandem stance. Weight-bearing was based on a designated center-of-pressure position rather than actual weight distribution, which the authors say limits comparison with other tandem stance protocols. The study did not measure falls, function, or response to treatment.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that tandem stance training improves balance or that very fast pressure movement predicts falls. The study compared older women during a standing task and did not test an intervention or clinical outcome.