Effects of task context during standing reach on postural control in young and older adults: a pilot study

Reaching is an important component of daily activities with goals to interact and acquire objects in the environment. The task context of reaching, as determined by the behavioral goal and the properties of the object, can influence the control of posture and movements. This study examined age differences in postural stability during a forward reach under two task contexts, grasping versus pointing to a target. Young and older participants living in the community performed the tasks from the standing position. They reached forward, grasped or pointed to a target, and then returned to an upright posture as fast as possible. Postural stability was analyzed using the center of pressure (COP) during two phases of the task: the reaching movement phase and the returning movement phase. In the grasping context, the COP path deviations were significantly larger in older compare to young participants during both the reach and the return movement phases. In addition, during the return movement phase, only older participants showed a context-dependent increase in COP path deviations after grasping compared to pointing. The results highlight the impact of task context on postural stability during standing reach in young and older adults. Interventions for older adults with balance problems should consider incorporating activities that involve the interaction with objects of various properties in the environment. Future studies are necessary to investigate the factors underlying the person-environment interplay of postural control and the adaptation of anticipatory postural control associated with object interaction during functional tasks in older adults.