Tempo-controlled resistance training of the hip abductors and ankle dorsiflexors with light loads does not improve postural sway in older adults

Effectiveness of a sensorimotor exercise program on proprioception, balance, muscle strength, functional mobility and risk of falls in older people

Introduction

Sensory systems provide the necessary information for a motor response to be provided. In this sense, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a sensorimotor exercise program on proprioceptive acuity, balance, muscle strength, functional mobility and risk of falls in institutionalized elderly.

Methodology

56 participants (84.6 ± 8.4 years) were randomly distributed between the control (CG, n = 28) and intervention groups (IG, n = 28). The CG performed a protocol based on warm-up, muscle strengthening and warm down and the IG performed the same intervention, with the addition of sensorimotor exercises. Joint Position Sensation (JPS) was evaluated in both limbs at angles of 20° and 45°, balance, functional mobility, fear of falling in the elderly and muscle strength of quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors and abductors in both limbs, before and after the 12 weeks of intervention.

Results

Both groups showed gains in muscle strength. When analyzing functionality through Timed Up and Go (TUG), before and after for each group separately, both showed a significant difference (CG p = 0.002; IG p < 0.001). For the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) variable, there were significant differences in IG in balance (p < 0.001), gait speed time (s) (p = 0.004) and sit-to-stand (p = 0.002). In JPS, significant differences were recorded for Absolute Error 45° Non-Dominant (p = 0.045) and Relative Error 45° Non-Dominant (p = 0.045) in the CG and Relative Error 45° Non-Dominant for IG (p = 0.018). In the Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) variable there were significant improvements in the CG (p = 0.006) and in the GI (p = 0.002). However, only IG showed significant improvements (p = 0.013) for Activities-Specific Balance Confident (ABC) in a comparison between before and after the 12-week research period. When comparing the differences verified with the intervention between CG and IG, only balance SPPB (p < 0.001) and sit-to-stand SPPB (p = 0.022) showed significant values.

Conclusion

He effectiveness of sensorimotor exercises provides balance gain in the elderly (p < 0.001) and positively impacts their confidence (p = 0.013) when performing their duties. It is concluded that the protocol presented in its different levels of difficulty is effective and important for the quality of life of the institutionalized sedentary elderly.

The effect of hip abductor strengthening exercises on lower limb strength asymmetry and balance in women with multiple sclerosis: A randomized controlled clinical trial

INTRODUCTION

Patients with multiple sclerosis tend to use and move their body segments in an unbalanced way, which causes asymmetry of muscle strength, especially in the lower limbs. Among these muscles, the hip abductor muscles play a more important role in stabilizing the pelvis and maintaining balance. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of hip abductors exercises on lower limb strength asymmetry and balance in people with multiple sclerosis.

MATERIALS & METHODS

In this clinical trial with a pre-test-post-test design, 40 women with multiple sclerosis were purposefully selected and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group performed hip abductor muscle strengthening exercises for 8 weeks and each session lasted 30 min. The control group did not receive any intervention and continued their daily activities. The strength of knee flexors and extensors, plantar-flexors and ankle dorsi-flexors was measured using a dynamometer. Static and dynamic balance was also evaluated using the stork test and timed get up and go test, respectively. ANCOVA test was used at a significance level of 0.05 to investigate the intergroup effects.

RESULTS

The results showed a significant decrease in the strength asymmetry of the knee extensor (P = 0.001) and knee flexor (P = 0.001) muscles in the experimental group. However, no significant difference was observed in the asymmetry of the strength of the ankle dorsi-flexor (P = 0.160) and plantar-flexor muscles (P = 0.698). The results also showed a significant improvement in static (P = 0.001) and dynamic balance (P = 0.001) in the experimental group.

DISCUSSIONS & CONCLUSIONS

Strengthening the hip abductors improves the symmetry of the strength of the knee extensor and flexor muscles. It also improves the balance of people with multiple sclerosis.

The Association between Masticatory Muscles Activation and Foot Pressure Distribution in Older Female Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

The association between craniofacial muscles and postural control is well-known because of numerous anatomical connections. However, there are a few conflicting studies that correlated the activity of the masticatory muscles with the distribution of body weight pressure on the feet, which can strongly influence balance. Therefore, the purpose of our study was to evaluate the association between the masseter and temporalis muscle activity and foot pressure distribution. Fifty-two women were recruited, and baropodometric and EMG analyses of the masseter and temporalis baseline activities were analyzed. An ipsilateral association was found between the right temporal muscle activity and the right rearfoot load (r = 0.29, p < 0.05) and right forefoot load (r = -0.29; p < 0.05), as well as the percentage of muscle activation of the right masseter muscles with the percentage of pressure on the right forefoot (r = 0.31, p < 0.05) and right rearfoot (r = -0.31, p < 0.05). While further studies are needed, an ipsilateral association was found between masticatory muscles and foot pressure distribution.