Muscular Strength Assessments for Older Adults in the Community

Falls among the elderly are a major health problem associated with a significant risk of long term disability or mortality. This study investigated whether older adults who subsequently fall demonstrate weaker leg strength or impaired ankle flexion when compared with non-fallers. This study is the fist attempt to obtain values on leg strength for independently functioning older adults who subsequently suffered a fall and to compare a simple clinical procedure, the 10-stands, with a computerized dynamometric assessment. The results on both the clinical and computerized measurements did not indicate a significant difference in strength of selected muscle groups between the fallers and non-fallers. There was also no difference in' ankle dorsiflexion and ankle plantar flexion for people who subsequently fell. Thus, falls in this study do not seem to be the result of impaired leg strength in active older adults but may be due to environmental factors. The clinical measurement of 10-stands appears to be a useful procedure for settings that do not provide high-technology equipment.