One-leg standing time with eyes open: comparison between the mouth-opened and mouth-closed conditions

Association between masticatory movement and oral and physical function in healthy older women

PURPOSE

This study examined the association between masticatory movement and oral and physical function in healthy older women using clinical assessments considering central motor control.

METHODS

A total of 107 independent older women (mean age, 74.37 ± 4.46 years; age range, 66-84 years) living in the community participated in this cross-sectional study. The subjects selected were those aged 65 years or older with at least 28 teeth and without oral dysfunction, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disease, cerebrovascular disease, or neuromuscular disease. The following items of oral and physical function were measured: masticatory path pattern, masticatory perfor-mance, oral diadochokinesis (ODK), tongue pressure, single-leg stance with eyes open (SLS), stepping test, and grip strength. Logistic regression analysis adjusting for age was performed to investigate the association between masticatory movement and other items.

RESULTS

In total, 30.8% of subjects were classified into the abnormal group regarding masticatory path pattern, having a significantly lower value than that of the normal group in masticatory performance (unadjusted p = 0.021). After adjusting for age, the masticatory path pattern was significantly associated with masticatory performance ( p = 0.032); ODK /pa/ ( p < 0.001), /ta/ ( p = 0.022), and /ka/ ( p = 0.016); and stepping test ( p = 0.018). Tongue pressure, SLS, and grip strength were not significantly associated with masticatory path pattern.

CONCLUSION

Masticatory movement in older women was associated with masticatory performance, tongue and lip motor skills, and physical agility, which might be influenced by central motor control.

Unipedal balance test for older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies providing normative data

BACKGROUND

The unipedal balance test (UBT) is widely used with older adults, but interpreting performance on the test requires the availability of normative values.

OBJECTIVE

To use meta-analysis to provide normative values for the UBT for adults ≥60years.

DATA SOURCES

Electronic searches of PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus as well as hand searches.

STUDY SELECTION

Inclusion required that articles provided means and standard deviations for UBT time for strata including at least 30 participants without pathology.

STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS

The two authors independently abstracted information on UBT procedures and performance. The Comprehensive Meta Analysis (3.0) program (random effects model) was used to consolidate UBT data from 23 articles. A custom six component (14 point) checklist was used to rate article quality.

RESULTS

Meta-analysis showed the mean UBT time for 13,454 tested individuals to be 26.9 seconds. Times were longer for individuals who were younger, male, and allowed longer test durations (e.g. ≥120seconds vs 30seconds).

LIMITATIONS

Although the UBT norms presented herein provide a better estimate of normal performance than individual studies, differences between studies in age and gender strata and test durations limit the generalizability of some of the normative values generated using meta-analysis.

Immediate effect of subliminal priming with positive reward stimuli on standing balance in healthy individuals: A randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Information received subconsciously can influence exercise performance; however, it remains unclear whether subliminal or supraliminal reward is more effective in improving standing balance ability when priming stimuli are subconsciously delivered. The present study aimed to compare the effects of subliminal priming-plus-subliminal reward stimuli (experimental) with subliminal priming-plus-supraliminal reward stimuli (control) on standing balance ability.

METHODS

This was a single-blind (outcome assessor), parallel-group, randomized controlled trial involving healthy young adults recruited from a university in Japan. Assessments were conducted at baseline and immediately after intervention. The primary outcome was the functional reach test (FRT) measurement. The secondary outcome was one-leg standing time (OLST) with eyes closed. Of the 52 participants screened, 25 were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups each.

RESULTS

Both interventions were effective for improving the FRT between the baseline and intervention; however, smaller improvements were observed in the experimental group. We found a large between-groups effect size immediately after the intervention for the FRT (d = -0.92). In contrast, there were no differences in improvements in OLST between the 2 groups (d = -0.06); furthermore, neither intervention was found to be effective for this parameter.

CONCLUSION

We concluded that subliminal priming with conscious reward stimuli results in improvements in immediate-term forward reach ability, which is superior to that achieved by subliminal priming with subconscious reward stimuli.