ATENÇÃO VISUAL E CONTROLE DE EQUILÍBRIO EM IDOSOS

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2006

RESUMO

Falls are very frequent in elderly individuals and are associated with serious medical and social consequences. Studies in this subject have been concentrated in the role of rheumatic or neuromuscular illnesses, collateral effect of drugs, characteristics of the physical environment, and in the lack of regular physical exercises. This study investigated the evidences that cognitive factors, in special tasks that demand attention, also can have an important role in the facilitation of falls in this population. Posturografy test was used to evaluate 36 healthy voluntary individuals (18 young and 18 older adults). The individuals were tested in the following circumstances: in fixed platform with opened eyes, fixed platform with closed eyes, sway referenced movement of the platform with opened eyes, and sway referenced movement of the platform with closed eyes. After standard posturography. the same balance task procedure was repeated simultaneously to the test of manual tracking task. Elderly individuals did not presented differences in relation to the young in the simplest task (keep the postural control in foot on the fixed platform, with the open or closed eyes). However, when submitted to the condition of higher demand, with the mobile platform, its postural control got worse in relation to the control group. When the task of visual tracing was added, even though the control of position with the fixed platform got worse in the elderly group. These results are compatible with reports of a deficiency in the maintenance of the postural stability associated with the aging. This study suggests that elderly individuals without clinical abnormalities of balance can worse their postural control when a cognitive task is simultaneously performed

ASSUNTO(S)

postura (idosos) equilíbrio psicologia envelhecimento - fisiologia

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