Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jul-Aug;19(4):304-10.
doi: 10.1590/bjpt-rbf.2014.0099. Epub 2015 Aug 7.

Joint positioning sense, perceived force level and two-point discrimination tests of young and active elderly adults

Priscila G Franco  1 , Karini B Santos  1 , André L F Rodacki  1
Affiliations

Joint positioning sense, perceived force level and two-point discrimination tests of young and active elderly adults

Priscila G Franco et al. Braz J Phys Ther. 2015 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Background: Changes in the proprioceptive system are associated with aging. Proprioception is important to maintaining and/or recovering balance and to reducing the risk of falls.

Objective: To compare the performance of young and active elderly adults in three proprioceptive tests.

Method: Twenty-one active elderly participants (66.9 ± 5.5 years) and 21 healthy young participants (24.6 ± 3.9 years) were evaluated in the following tests: perception of position of the ankle and hip joints, perceived force level of the ankle joint, and two-point discrimination of the sole of the foot.

Results: No differences (p>0.05) were found between groups for the joint position and perceived force level. On the other hand, the elderly participants showed lower sensitivity in the two-point discrimination (higher threshold) when compared to the young participants (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: Except for the cutaneous plantar sensitivity, the active elderly participants had maintained proprioception. Their physical activity status may explain similarities between groups for the joint position sense and perceived force level, however it may not be sufficient to prevent sensory degeneration with aging.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Schematic representation of the hip and ankle joints during the joint positioning test. Narrow and wide range flexion positions during the joint positioning sense test of the hip (top panel A and B) and ankle (lower panel C and D).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Schematic representation of the ankle during the perceived force level test. Participants performed maximal isometric voluntary ankle dorsiflexion (A) and plantar flexion (B), then contraction equivalent to 10% and 20% of the maximal with visual feedback by numerical computer, and finally the performances reproduced a target force.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Chou CH, Hwang CL, Wu YT. Effect of exercise on physical function, daily living activities, and quality of life in the frail older adults: a meta-analysis. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2012;93(2):237–244. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2011.08.042 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Gauchard GC, Jeandel C, Tessier A, Perrin PP. Beneficial effect of proprioceptive physical activities on balance control in elderly human subjects. Neurosci Lett. 1999;273(2):81–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(99)00615-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zheng J, Pan Y, Hua Y, Shen H, Wang X, Zhang Y. Strategic targeted exercise for preventing falls in elderly people. J Int Med Res. 2013;41(2):418–426. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0300060513477297 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Maciel ACC, Guerra RO. Prevalência e fatores associados ao defícit de equilíbrio em idosos. Rev Bras Cienc Mov. 2005;13(1):37–44.
    1. Garcia R, Leme MD, Garcez-Leme LE. Evolution of Brazilian elderly with hip fracture secondary to a fall. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2006;61(6):539–544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1807-59322006000600009 - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources