Age-related difference in postural control during recovery from posterior and anterior perturbations.

Decreased reactive postural responses in elderly adults may place them at increased risk for falls and related injuries. The first step in addressing the high rate of falls in the elderly population is to determine a baseline for postural response in healthy young and healthy elderly individuals. To determine these age-related differences in reactive postural responses during recovery from posterior and anterior perturbations, we used the tether-release method in conjunction with a motion analysis system to evaluate overall movement latencies, overall movement amplitude and velocity, and joint-specific amplitude and velocity in healthy young (n = 10, mean age=25 ± 5) and healthy elderly participants (n = 10, mean age = 67 ± 6).