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Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Evaluating Postural Control and Lower-extremity Muscle Activation in Individuals with Chronic Ankle Instability
Published on: September 18, 2020
Postural instability and the condition of physical frailty in the elderly
Dayana Cristina Moraes1,2, Maria Helena Lenardt2, Marcia Daniele Seima2,3
1Hospital Nossa Senhora do Pilar, Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Curitiba, PR, Brasil.
Objective:
to analyze the relationship between postural instability and the condition and markers of physical frailty of the elderly people in outpatient geriatric and gerontology care.
Method:
a cross-sectional study with a sample of 381 elderly subjects. Physical frailty was evaluated by the frailty phenotype and postural instability through the Berg Balance Scale. Univariate analyses consisted in Chi-square tests, and multivariate analyses used the Forward Stepwise method, which resulted in a model of physical frailty associated with postural instability.
Results:
among the participants, 56 (14.7%) were frail, 217 (57%) pre-frail, and 68 (28.3%) non-frail. Pre-frailty (p < 0.001), frailty (p = 0.000), and the markers hand grip strength (p = 0.0008), unintentional weight loss (p = 0.0094), level of physical activity (p = 0.0001), fatigue/exhaustion (p = 0.0001), and gait speed (p = 0.0001) were associated with postural instability.
Conclusion:
the presence of postural instability determines a greater chance of the elderly being frail or pre-frail. This result favors the planning of gerontological nursing care and strengthens the treatment plan under a specific approach.
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