The Mediolateral CoP Parameters can Differentiate the Fallers among the Community-dwelling Elderly Population

[Purpose] Age-related mediolateral (ML) instability of static postural control in the elderly has been well studied. Recent studies have provided evidence that ML center of pressure (CoP) parameters during dynamic postural control are more sensitive for differentiation of the fallers in the elderly. However, very limited studies have been done in which ML stability differences between fallers and non-fallers were investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in ML CoP parameters between elderly fallers and elderly non-fallers during dynamic postural control. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-nine community-dwelling older adults were divided into either fallers or non-fallers according to a self-report related to falling history within a year. Every participant performed 4 different tasks (static postural control tasks comprising quiet stance with eyes open and eyes closed and dynamic postural control tasks comprising stance with arm lifting and with trunk flexion) on force plates. [Results] The fallers demonstrated decreased AP and ML CoP parameters, and ML CoP distance was significantly smaller than in the non-fallers during both dynamic postural control tasks. [Conclusions] ML CoP parameters were able to differentiate the fallers from the non-fallers in a community-dwelling elderly population.