Yang N1,2, Waddington G1, Adams R1, Han J1,2
1University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia, 2Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
Background: The somatosensory system, including pain, temperature, touch, and proprioception, has been reported to degenerate from the younger adulthood to the older adulthood. The prevention from the degenrative process which is significant for the benefit of the health and living quality for the elderly has long been an object of intensive study. Physical activity is always considered as a positive means to promote or maitain the physical function for old aults, but its effect on the somatosensory sensation at the joints of the human body has not been investigated.
Purpose: The present study was to investigate the effect of two different physical activities (Taiji and Square Dance) on the function of the sometosensory sensations at the ankle among the elderly people.
Methods: 90 participants were recruited and 22 of them were screened out for the reason of the history of sport training experience, use of psychoactive or vasoactive medications, pathology of either the ankle or the subtalar joint. The remaining participants were categoried into 4 groups: young adults (n= 15, mean age, 19.1yrs); old adults from a community Taiji team (>12 months) (n= 17, mean age, 68.2yrs); old adults from a community square dance class(>12 months) (n= 19, mean age, 67.9yrs); Inactive old adults (n= 17, mean age,69.5yrs). International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ - short form) was used for a pre-test survey of physical activity vollume. Ankle proprioception was measured in standing using the active movement extent discrimination apparatus (AMEDA). The 30-Second Chair Stand Test was implemented to test the functional strength of the lower extremities. Monofilament testing was used to test the pressure sensation threshold for the foot.
Results: The old adults who regularly practice Taiji and Square Dance for at least one year are significantly better than those inactive old adults in tests of ankle proprioception, functional strength and foot pressure sensation threshold. No significant difference was identified at the three tests between the two groups of active old adults. When compared to the healthy young adults, the old adults, both active and inactive, are significantly worse at the tests of ankle proprioception and foot pressure sensation threshold testing. The score of ankle proprioception was significantly and positively correlated to the cutaneous pressure sensitivity of the foot (rleft = 0.738; rright = 0.685; p 0.01).
Conclusion(s): The present study verified that the somatosensory sensation degenerates as age increases. Cutaneous receptors in the skin of the foot provide critical tactile information that contributes to proprioceptive task performance. Therefore, aging degradation of the tactile acuity in plantar skin may contribute to the age-related decline observed in ankle proprioceptive performance. However, the better performance of the active old adults than the inactive ones in all the tests indicated that physical activity plays a proactive role in maintaining the somatosensory sensation of the elderly.
Implications: Regular physical activity, such as Taiji and Square dance, can effectively help the elderly people maintain the somatosensory function in a fairly good condition, although the aging process in the somatosensory system is unlikely to be blocked.
Keywords: Physical Activity, Somatosensory Sensation, Aging
Funding acknowledgements: Natural Science Funding of China
Purpose: The present study was to investigate the effect of two different physical activities (Taiji and Square Dance) on the function of the sometosensory sensations at the ankle among the elderly people.
Methods: 90 participants were recruited and 22 of them were screened out for the reason of the history of sport training experience, use of psychoactive or vasoactive medications, pathology of either the ankle or the subtalar joint. The remaining participants were categoried into 4 groups: young adults (n= 15, mean age, 19.1yrs); old adults from a community Taiji team (>12 months) (n= 17, mean age, 68.2yrs); old adults from a community square dance class(>12 months) (n= 19, mean age, 67.9yrs); Inactive old adults (n= 17, mean age,69.5yrs). International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ - short form) was used for a pre-test survey of physical activity vollume. Ankle proprioception was measured in standing using the active movement extent discrimination apparatus (AMEDA). The 30-Second Chair Stand Test was implemented to test the functional strength of the lower extremities. Monofilament testing was used to test the pressure sensation threshold for the foot.
Results: The old adults who regularly practice Taiji and Square Dance for at least one year are significantly better than those inactive old adults in tests of ankle proprioception, functional strength and foot pressure sensation threshold. No significant difference was identified at the three tests between the two groups of active old adults. When compared to the healthy young adults, the old adults, both active and inactive, are significantly worse at the tests of ankle proprioception and foot pressure sensation threshold testing. The score of ankle proprioception was significantly and positively correlated to the cutaneous pressure sensitivity of the foot (rleft = 0.738; rright = 0.685; p 0.01).
Conclusion(s): The present study verified that the somatosensory sensation degenerates as age increases. Cutaneous receptors in the skin of the foot provide critical tactile information that contributes to proprioceptive task performance. Therefore, aging degradation of the tactile acuity in plantar skin may contribute to the age-related decline observed in ankle proprioceptive performance. However, the better performance of the active old adults than the inactive ones in all the tests indicated that physical activity plays a proactive role in maintaining the somatosensory sensation of the elderly.
Implications: Regular physical activity, such as Taiji and Square dance, can effectively help the elderly people maintain the somatosensory function in a fairly good condition, although the aging process in the somatosensory system is unlikely to be blocked.
Keywords: Physical Activity, Somatosensory Sensation, Aging
Funding acknowledgements: Natural Science Funding of China
Topic: Older people; Musculoskeletal: lower limb
Ethics approval required: Yes
Institution: Shanghai University of Sport
Ethics committee: the human research ethics board of Shanghai University of Sport
Ethics number: 2015012
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
