Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Lower Extremity Power And Movement Velocity In Competitive Older Athletes, Becca D. Jordre

Dissertations and Theses

Older adults are a rapidly growing population which house a subset of older athletes who regularly engage in sport competition. The physical health and risk factors of this competitive older athlete population have been largely overlooked by healthcare providers and researchers and are poorly understood. Older athletes exhibit distinctly different measures of physical performance which require unique thresholds to identify health-related risk factors. While lower extremity power and movement velocity have been identified as valuable measures of physical performance and fall risk in community-dwelling older adults this relationship has not been explored in competitive older athletes. One method for analyzing …

Influences Of Balance Confidence, Fear Of Falling, And Fall History On Physical Activity Levels In Community-Dwelling Older Adults, Alison Yang Spt, Holly Roberts Pt, Phd

Physical Therapy Research Symposium

Background: Physical activity levels generally decline with increasing age. Few studies have examined the influences of balance confidence, fear of falling, and fall history on physical activity levels in older adults.

Purpose: To determine the relationships between balance confidence, fear of falling, fall history, and physical activity level in community-dwelling older adults.

Methods: Eighty-eight participants completed the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Fear of Falling Avoidance Behavior Questionnaire (FFABQ), and a self-reported fall history. They reported their monthly activity levels using the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE). Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were used to analyze …

A Vicious Cycle Of Fear Of Falling Avoidance Behavior In Parkinson’S Disease: A Path Analysis, Kameron Jacobson, Nicole Matsunami, Hannah Mccarl, Michelle Regis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Background: Postural instability (PI) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with several negative down- stream consequences. Objective: The purpose was to explore the validity of a theoretical model of these downstream consequences arranged in a vicious cycle wherein PI leads to decreased balance con!dence, which in turn leads to increased fear of falling (FOF) avoidance behavior, which in turn leads to decreased physical conditioning, which then feeds back and negatively affects PI. Methods: A path analysis of cross!sectional data from 55 participants with PD was conducted. The four con- structs in the model connected in succession were: 1. PI (principal …

Evaluating Intrinsic Fall Risk Factors After Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury: Distinguishing Fallers From Nonfallers., Kristin E Musselman, Tarun Arora, Katherine Chan, Mohammad Alavinia, Mackenzie Bone, Janelle Unger, Joel Lanovaz, Alison Oates

Physical Therapy Publications

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether performance on measures of lower extremity muscle strength, sensory function, postural control, gait speed, and balance self-efficacy could distinguish fallers from nonfallers among ambulatory individuals with spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D).

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Community.

PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (N=26; 6 female, aged 58.9±18.2y) with motor incomplete SCI/D (American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale rating C [n=5] or D [n=21]) participated. Participants were 7.5±9.1 years post injury. Seventeen participants experienced traumatic causes of spinal cord injury.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed laboratory-based and clinical measures of postural control, gait speed, balance self-efficacy, and lower extremity …