Gait Characteristics during Dual-Task Walking in Elderly Subjects of Different Ages.

BACKGROUND: In older age, walking ability gradually decreases due to factors including impaired balance, reduced muscle strength, and impaired vision and proprioception. Further, cognitive functions play a key role during walking and gradually decline with age. There is greater variability in gait parameters when the demands during walking increase, in dual- and multiple-task situations. The aim of this study was to analyze gait parameters while performing a demanding cognitive and motor dual task in three different age-related healthy elderly subject groups. METHOD: A total of 132 healthy individuals (54 males, 78 females) were divided into three groups-55 to 65, 66 to 75, and 76 to 85 years. The subjects performed a basic walking task, dual motor task, dual mental task, and combined motor and mental task while walking. The gait parameters cycle time, stride length, swing time, and double support time were noted, as well as the variability of those parameters. RESULTS: Cycle time was longer and stride length was shorter in the >76-year-old group than in the 51-65-year-old group in all test conditions. A comparison of all three groups did not show a significant difference in swing time, while double support time was increased in the same group. CONCLUSIONS: Changes are observed when gait is performed simultaneously with an additional motor or cognitive task. Early detection of gait disorders can help identify elderly people at increased risk of falls. Employing a dual-task paradigm during gait assessment in healthy elderly subjects may help identify cognitive impairment early in the course of the disturbance.

Relationship between hand grip strength and endurance and postural stability in active and sedentary older women.

Physical activity, muscle strength and the ability to maintain postural stability (PS) are important for well-being in old age. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to assess the contractile abilities of the hand muscles (CAHM) in physically active (PA) and sedentary (SED) older women. The second aim was to examine the relationship between CAHM and PS indicators in older women. The sample of 75 women (aged 65-86 years), was divided into PA and SED group. Differences in CAHM, namely rate of force development and muscular endurance, were confirmed in favor of PA group, whereas, no differences were found between PA and SED group regarding maximum force. Moreover, CAHM were moderately associated with PS indicators. Obtained results could open space for designing routine tests that might serve as a potential prescreening analysis, which could indicate early risk factors for falls along with other age related health issues.

The Impact Of Sports Activities On Quality Of Life Of Persons With A Spinal Cord Injury: VPLIV SPORTNIH AKTIVNOSTI NA KAKOVOST ZIVLJENJA OSEB S POSKODBO HRBTENJACE.

OBJECTIVES: Studying the quality of life of people with a spinal cord injury is of great importance as it allows the monitoring of both functioning and adaptation to disability. The aim of this study was to determine the difference between persons with a spinal cord injury involved in sports activities and those not involved in sports activities in relation to their quality of life and the presence of secondary health conditions (pressure ulcers, urinary infections, muscle spasms, osteoporosis, pain, kidney problems-infections, calculosis and poor circulation). METHODS: The study included a total of 44 participants with spinal cord injury-paraplegia of both genders; 26 of them were athletes and 18 were not athletes. The athletes were training actively for the last two years, minimally 2-3 times per week. A specially designed questionnaire, medical documentation and the Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Questionnaire (SCI QL-23) were used for research purposes. Chi-square test was used to analyze the differences between the groups, while multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to determine the differences between the sets of variables. RESULTS: Among the participants, the athletes perceived higher quality of life than the non-athletes (male gender p<0.001 and female gender p<0.05). Regarding secondary health conditions, the athletes reported the presence of less pain (p=0.034) and a subjective feeling of better circulation (p=0.023). CONCLUSION: The implementation of sports activities significantly improves quality of life in the population of people with spinal cord injury-paraplegia. However, sports activities only partially affect secondary health conditions.

Correlation between demographic characteristics, cognitive functioning and functional independence in stroke patients.

INTRODUCTION: It has been assumed that there is causality of the achieved level of functional independence with the degree of preservation of cognitive function in stroke patients. Demographic characteristics may be important for monitoring the achieved level of functional independence. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of demographic characteristics and functional independence in regard to the level of cognitive impairment in stroke patients. METHODS: The study included 50 stroke patients after rehabilitation, as well as age- and gender-matched 50 subjects selected randomly, according to the demographic characteristics of the studied sample, who in their medical history had no neurological disorders. For the assessment of functional independence, the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) test was used.The general cognition was estimated by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test. The statistical analyses included the Mann-Whitney test, for two independent samples, measures of canonical correlation, and χ2 test. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in relation to risk factors, hypertension and diabetes mellitus type II (p < 0.001); There was a statistically significant difference within the groups in relation to the cognitive impairment in all the examined demographic characteristics (p<0.001); the differences within the groups in relation to the cognitive impairment are present on all subscales of the FIM test (p < 0.05); the differences within the groups in relation to handedness, hemiparesis, show that mild cognitive impairment is more common among left hemiparesis, while a more severe one is more common among right-sided hemiparesis (p < 0.05); More severe cognitive impairment is common among women, the elderly and in persons with lower education (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: By prevention of risk factors, and prevention of possible cognitive impairment, consequences of stroke can be reduced, the recovery can be made more successful, and quality of life can be improved.