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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 30, 2026

Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
08:56

Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults

Published on: November 7, 2014

Age-associated differences in positional variability are greater with the lower limb.

MinHyuk Kwon1, Harsimran S Baweja, Evangelos A Christou

  • 1Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.

Journal of Motor Behavior
|August 4, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Older adults show greater motor control variability, especially in the ankle. The lower limb generally exhibits more motor output variability than the upper limb, regardless of age.

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Area of Science:

  • Motor Control
  • Human Aging
  • Biomechanics

Background:

  • Motor control changes with age, but limb-specific differences are not fully understood.
  • Understanding age-related motor variability is crucial for rehabilitation and assistive technologies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interaction between age and limb (upper vs. lower) on motor positional variability.
  • To determine how different load levels affect motor control in young and older adults.

Main Methods:

  • Participants: 11 young adults and 10 older adults.
  • Task: Matching and maintaining a horizontal target line using index finger abduction and ankle dorsiflexion at 5°.
  • Loads: Varied from 2% to 50% of maximal load for each limb.
  • Measurement: Positional variability assessed under constant visual gain (1°).

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Kinematics and Ground Reaction Force Determination: A Demonstration Quantifying Locomotor Abilities of Young Adult, Middle-aged, and Geriatric Rats
10:28

Kinematics and Ground Reaction Force Determination: A Demonstration Quantifying Locomotor Abilities of Young Adult, Middle-aged, and Geriatric Rats

Published on: February 22, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 30, 2026

Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults
08:56

Clinical Assessment of Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients and Older Adults

Published on: November 7, 2014

Kinematics and Ground Reaction Force Determination: A Demonstration Quantifying Locomotor Abilities of Young Adult, Middle-aged, and Geriatric Rats
10:28

Kinematics and Ground Reaction Force Determination: A Demonstration Quantifying Locomotor Abilities of Young Adult, Middle-aged, and Geriatric Rats

Published on: February 22, 2011

Main Results:

  • Older adults exhibited greater positional variability in both finger and ankle tasks compared to young adults.
  • Age-related differences in variability were more pronounced for ankle dorsiflexion than for index finger abduction.
  • Motor output variability was consistently higher in the lower limb compared to the upper limb, irrespective of age.

Conclusions:

  • Older adults may experience more significant motor control impairments in the foot compared to the finger.
  • The lower limb demonstrates inherently greater motor output variability than the upper limb, a finding consistent across age groups.