Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Large Type Edition
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pickard, C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Singer, K. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pickard, C. M.
Right arrow Articles by Singer, K. P.
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 58:M631-M635 (2003)
© 2003 The Gerontological Society of America

Is There a Difference in Hip Joint Position Sense Between Young and Older Groups?

Christine M. Pickard1, Patricia E. Sullivan1,2, Garry T. Allison3 and Kevin P. Singer3

1 School of Physiotherapy, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia.
2 MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, Massachusetts.
3 The Centre for Musculoskeletal Studies, Department of Surgery, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia.

Background. Joint position sense (JPS) in the knee has been shown by many authors to decline with age. It has been speculated that this decrease contributes to abnormal joint mechanics during load-bearing activities and putatively results in joint degeneration. Surprisingly little research has been conducted on the human hip to determine benchmarks for normal JPS.

Method. Fifty-nine community dwelling subjects, 30 young (mean age 21.7 years) and 29 older (mean age 75 years), were recruited to determine normal reference ranges for the effect of age on hip JPS. Active and passive repositioning tasks were performed in inner and outer ranges of the hip abduction plane of movement. An electromagnetic tracking system was used to obtain accurate error measurements of the angular displacement.

Results. Results indicated no difference in hip JPS between the young and older subjects (). However, it was found that for both age groups, accurate reproduction of position at the hip joint occurred in the inner range (). For both groups, active repositioning was more accurate than passive ().

Conclusions. In this study, no difference in hip JPS was found between young and older subjects. Accuracy was greater in the inner range, with active repositioning demonstrating higher precision compared to passive repositioning of the limb.






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
All GSA journals The Gerontologist
Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
Copyright © 2003 by The Gerontological Society of America.