Effect of Acute Fatigue of the Hip Abductors on Control of Balance in Young and Older Women

Abstract Bellew JW, Panwitz BL, Peterson L, Brock MC, Olson KE, Staples WH. Effect of acute fatigue of the hip abductors on control of balance in young and older women. Objective To examine the effects of acute fatigue of the hip abductors on the control of balance in young and older women. Design Pretest-posttest. Setting University research laboratory. Participants Healthy young women (n=20; age, 23.0±1.5y; height, 166.52±4.5cm; mass, 65.33±10.5kg) and community-dwelling older women (n=20; age, 71.65±7.2y; height, 162.31±3.8cm; mass, 71.16±11.6kg) without a fall history. Intervention Measurements of control of single-limb balance before and after fatiguing the hip abductors of the dominant leg. Main Outcome Measure Performance on 3 clinical assessments of control of balance: the modified Functional Reach Test in the forward, left, and right directions; the Lower-Extremity Reach Test in forward and lateral directions; and the Single-Limb Stance Time Test (SLSTT). Results Although the younger subjects showed a significantly greater control of balance than the older women in most tests, control of balance after acute fatigue failed to show a significant decline in either age group. The only exception to this was the SLSTT in the younger women in whom a significant 26% decline was noted ( P