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Stepping performance during obstacle clearance in women: age differences and the association with lower extremity
1Department of Physical Education, Health and Sport Studies, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056, USA.
Objective:
To compare stepping performance during obstacle clearance in younger and older women, and to examine the relationship between lower extremity strength and stepping performance during obstacle clearance in older women.
Design:
Correlational study.
Setting:
A small community.
Participants:
Twenty-four older women (mean age = 74.4), and 16 younger women (mean age = 20.7). The older participants lived independently in the community and were able to walk unaided.
Measurements:
Lower extremity muscle strength, measures of stepping performance including reaction time, movement time, extent of obstacle clearance, time to clear obstacle, among others.
Main Results:
The older women were far slower in stepping than the younger women. Toe trajectories differed between older and younger women during the initial portion of the step. The younger women tended to lift the toe straight up, whereas the older women tended to move the toe backward, away from the obstacle, passing farther from the obstacle when the toe cleared the obstacle height. There was little, if any, association between relative lower extremity strength and stepping performance during obstacle clearance in older women.
Conclusions:
Dramatic differences in the speed of volitional stepping performance were found between younger and older women. Among the older women, lower extremity strength was not related to volitional stepping performance.
