Name: GIOVANNI RAMPINELLI FARINA
Publication date: 07/12/2023
Examining board:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| NATALIA MADALENA RINALDI | Advisor |
Summary: Ageing causes changes in postural control and muscle function, manifested by an
increase in body oscillations and a reduction in muscle power. However, the literature
shows that muscle strength exercises are capable of attenuating these impairments.
Forms of muscle strength intervention can be classified as open kinetic chain (OKC)
and closed kinetic chain (CKC), but despite the biomechanical differences, few studies
have investigated the effect of these interventions on postural control and muscle
power in the elderly. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effect of a OKC
and CKC strength intervention on postural control performance and muscle power
production in the elderly. Twenty-nine people took part in the study and were divided
into three groups: OCKG (n=10; 65.7±2.5 years), CKCG (n=10; 67.3±7.3 years) and
control group (CG) (n=9; 65.1±5.6 years). Postural control was assessed on a force
platform based on center of pressure (COP) oscillation variables - mean displacement
amplitude, mean oscillation velocity, oscillation frequency (50% of the spectrum) and
peak spectral frequency in the anteroposterior and mediolateral directions - in bipodal,
semi-tandem and unipodal support conditions. Muscle power was assessed based on
the time taken to perform the Sit-to-Stand (STS) test. All evaluations were carried out
before and after an acute intervention with muscle strength exercises in OCK and CKC.
Multivariate analyses and delta calculations were used to check for possible group and
condition effects, with a significance level of p0.05. The results revealed no group
differences for the postural control variables. However, there was a difference between
CG and CKCG for the time taken to perform the STS test, with the shortest time at the
post-intervention moment for the CKCG participants. In addition, a difference was
found in the postural control variables between the support conditions, with the
greatest COP oscillations present in the unipodal task. Thus, it can be concluded that
an acute intervention in OKC and CKC was not enough to differentiate postural balance
and muscle power in the elderly. However, CKC exercises were more effective for
functional tasks involving lower limb muscles than OKC exercises. Furthermore, it was
concluded that the elderly are more prone to postural imbalances when subjected to
more complex tasks.
