| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 醫學工程研究所碩博士班 === 94 === Aging is a natural process for human being. As aged, the general physical degeneration would occur, such as central nervous system (CNS), vestibular system, proprioception, vision, muscular strength and endurance, which are responsible for the balance control. Falls resulted from imbalance and the fall-related injuries are harmful to the elderly. It not only threatens the safety of the elderly, but also induces a serious burden on the costs of the healthcare system and social welfare. Furthermore, osteoarthritis of knee, a common chronic disease in the elderly, is evidenced to be a risk factor of falls by affecting the ability of balance control.
This study investigated the balance performance during putting on pants in the elderly. Fourteen healthy elderly (10 females, 4males; mean age: 69.3±4.0; body height: 158.9±10.3cm; body weight: 60.8±9.6Kg) and 3 aged females diagnosed with OA knee (mean age: 71.0±1.0; body height: 153.2±6.8cm; body weight: 58.0±12.3Kg) were recruited. An 8-camera Motion Analysis System and two Kistler force plates were used to capture the motion of putting-on pants and ground reaction force, respectively. Familiarity to movement (habit) and different lengths of pants were chosen as two control factors. The results show that habits of the movement had a great effect on the motion performance, especially under the condition of longer pants. Age indeed has significant influence on the balance performance, but it is not the only vital factors. The individuals with better knee function or one limb standing ability had more efficient balance control, and the overweight individuals had poorer performance in putting-on pants. In the data of three knee OA subjects, it was found that degenerated knee function makes the complicated dynamic movement more unstable and would be a high risk of falls to the knee OA elderly compared to the healthy ones.
Putting-on pants is a complicated composite activity in daily life. According to the results of this study, the elderly is suggested to perform the movement more stable and
safely by practicing repeatedly and getting familiar to the movement. It is also suggested that, hand-holding or other appropriate assistant equipments are secure ways to make the movement more stable. Furthermore, putting-on pants can be considered as a reference index to evaluate the knee function. It not only tells the patients the levels of limitation in their daily lives, but also provides physicians and therapists a quantitative and objective method to make the treatment goals and programs, as well as to record the progress before and after the treatment.
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