Assessing Proprioception in an Older Population: Reliability of a Protocol Based on Active Movement Extent...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Neuroscience
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Proprioception, the sense of body position, is crucial for balance and falls prevention in the elderly.
• Current methods for measuring proprioception, like the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus (AMEDA), can be cognitively demanding and lack individual-level reliability.
• There is a need for more reliable and feasible methods to assess proprioceptive ability in older adults to understand falls risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and feasibility of a novel AMEDA testing protocol for measuring ankle proprioception.
• To explore the relationship between AMEDA performance, cognitive function, and self-reported foot/ankle dysfunction.
• To establish a more dependable tool for assessing proprioceptive deficits linked to falls risk.

Main Methods:

• A new, simplified AMEDA protocol was administered to 42 participants (aged 19-94) three times.
• Participants also completed the Stroop test for cognitive ability and validated questionnaires for foot/ankle dysfunction.
• Psychometric functions and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to analyze AMEDA reliability and performance.

Main Results:

• The new AMEDA protocol demonstrated moderate reliability, with an ICC of 0.65.
• AMEDA performance showed a significant positive correlation with cognitive ability (Stroop test results).
• No significant relationship was found between AMEDA scores and self-reported foot or ankle dysfunction.

Conclusions:

• The revised AMEDA protocol is a reliable and feasible method for assessing ankle proprioception.
• This updated protocol offers a more dependable measure of proprioceptive ability, potentially aiding in the assessment of falls risk.
• The correlation with cognitive function suggests that executive functions may influence proprioceptive performance.