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Effect of trunk extensor fatigue on the postural balance of elderly and young adults during unipodal task

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Abstract

Muscle fatigue can influence the various mechanisms that regulate balance. Few studies have investigated the effects of trunk extensor muscle fatigue on postural control. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of trunk extensor fatigue during a one-leg balance test in young and elderly adults, as well as to determine the time necessary to recover posture control after fatigue. A total of 36 subjects (18 elderly and 18 young adults) participated in the study. Subjects were tested on a force platform to assess the postural control parameters associated with center of pressure (COP) movements, before and after a fatiguing trunk extension-flexion exercise on a roman chair carried out to exhaustion. Post-fatigue effects and postural control recovery were investigated at different times in minutes (MIN): immediately post-fatigue (postIME), after 5 (rec5MIN), 10 (rec10MIN), and 20 min (rec20MIN). Elderly subjects had greater sway (P < 0.05) than young adults in all COP parameters. In both groups, there was an increase in postIME sway compared with pre-fatigue values for all COP parameters. However, the differences were significant only for the COP velocity parameter, with more pronounced effects in young adults that did not return to pre-fatigue values at the end of rec20MIN. The present study demonstrated a significant effect of trunk extensor muscle fatigue on postural control, which was more evident in young adults than in the elderly.

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Acknowledgments

Rubens A. da Silva was funded by a Research grant from the National Foundation for the Development of Private Higher Education (FUNADESP, Brazil). We would like to thank Camila Kazuma, Physical Therapy student and PIBIC/CNPQ scholarship recipient, for assistance with data collection.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Health Science Research, Laboratory of Functional Evaluation and Human Motor Performance, Universidade Norte do Paraná (UNOPAR), 675 Paris Av, Londrina, PR, CEP 86041-120, Brazil

    Rodolfo B. Parreira, André W. Gil, Denilson C. Teixeira & Rubens A. da Silva

  2. Masters Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, UEL/UNOPAR, 675 Paris Av, Londrina, PR, CEP 86041-120, Brazil

    Rodolfo B. Parreira, André W. Gil & Rubens A. da Silva

  3. Masters Program in Physical Therapy, Universidade Cidade de São Paulo (UNICID), Rua Cesário Galeno, 448/475 Tatuapé, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    César F. Amorim

  4. School of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada

    Martin Bilodeau

  5. Élisabeth Bruyère Research Institute, 43 Bruyère St, Ottawa, ON, K1N 5C8, Canada

    Martin Bilodeau

Authors
  1. Rodolfo B. Parreira
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  2. César F. Amorim
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  3. André W. Gil
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  4. Denilson C. Teixeira
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  5. Martin Bilodeau
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  6. Rubens A. da Silva
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rubens A. da Silva.

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Communicated by Fausto Baldissera.

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Parreira, R.B., Amorim, C.F., Gil, A.W. et al. Effect of trunk extensor fatigue on the postural balance of elderly and young adults during unipodal task. Eur J Appl Physiol 113, 1989–1996 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-013-2627-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-013-2627-6

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