Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.9718/JBER.2012.33.4.163

Comparison of Reaction Times of Ankle Joint Muscles in the Elderly Men and Women  

Kim, Ji-Won (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Jeong, Hong-Young (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Kim, Hyo-Hee (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Kwon, Yu-Ri (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Eom, Gwang-Moon (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Lee, Jeong-Whan (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Kim, Kyung-Seoup (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Jun, Jae-Hoon (School of Biomedical Engineering, Konkuk University)
Park, Byung Kyu (Department of Neurology, Korea University College of Medicine)
Publication Information
Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research / v.33, no.4, 2012 , pp. 163-168 More about this Journal
Abstract
Elderly women are reported to have greater risk of falls. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the possible gender differences in the reaction performance of ankle joint muscles, which have dominant role in the control of sagittal plane balance. Twenty-six elderly men and women with comparable mean age participated in this study. Reaction times to the audible beeps were measured in the tibialis anterior muscle and gastrocnemius muscle. Reaction time variables included premotor time, electromechanical delay and total reaction time. Gender difference in each reaction time was investigated by independent t-test. In both muscles, premotor time was longer in men but the electromechanical delay was longer in women (p < 0.05). Resulting total reaction time was longer in men in tibialis anterior muscle (p < 0.01) and it tended to be longer in men also in gastrocnemius muscle (p = 0.25). The results demonstrates that the overall reaction performances of elderly women is better than or comparable to those of elderly men in ankle joint muscles. This suggests that the reaction performance of ankle muscles is hardly the cause of the greater risk of falls in elderly women.
Keywords
Reaction time; Ankle joint; Gender difference; Risk of falls;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
연도 인용수 순위
1 M.J. Gibson, R.O. Andres, T.E. Kennedy, L.C. Coppard , "The prevention of falls in later life. A report of the Kellogg International Work Group on the Prevention of Falls by the Elderly", Dan Med Bull, vol. 34 Suppl 4, pp. 1-24, 1987.
2 T. Masud, and R.O. Morris, "Epidemiology of falls", Age Ageing, vol. 30 Suppl 4, pp. 3-7, 2001.   DOI
3 K. Aoyagi, P.D. Ross, J.W. Davis, R.D. Wasnich, T. Hayashi, and T. Takemoto, "Falls among community-dwelling elderly in Japan", J Bone Miner Res, vol. 13, no. 9, pp. 1468-1474, 1998.   DOI
4 R.W. Sattin, "Falls among older persons: a public health perspective", Annu Rev Public Health, vol. 13, pp. 489-508, 1992.   DOI
5 C.Y. Cho, and G. Kamen, "Detecting balance deficits in frequent fallers using clinical and quantitative evaluation tools", J Am Geriatr Soc, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 426-430, 1998.   DOI
6 G.E. Stelmach, P.C. Amrhein and N.L. Goggin, "Age differences in bimanual coordination", J Gerontol, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 18-23, 1988.
7 B.L. Roberts, "Effects of walking on reaction and movement times among elders", Percept Mot Skills, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 131-140, 1990.   DOI   ScienceOn
8 L. Larsson, G. Grimby, and J. Karlsson, "Muscle strength and speed of movement in relation to age and muscle morphology", J Appl Physiol, vol. 46, no. 3, pp. 451-456, 1979.
9 D.P. Laroche, C.A. Knight, J.L. Dickie, M. Lussier, and S.J. Roy, "Explosive force and fractionated reaction time in elderly low- and high-active women", Med Sci Sports Exerc, vol. 39, no. 9, pp. 1659-1665, 2007.   DOI
10 D.P. LaRoche, K.A. Cremin, B. Greenleaf and R.V. Croce, "Rapid torque development in older female fallers and nonfallers: a comparison across lower-extremity muscles", J Electromyogr Kinesiol, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 482-488, 2010.   DOI
11 J.W. Kim, Y.R. Kwon, J. N. Shin, G. M..Eom, C. S. Kim, B. K. Park, J.H. Hong, "Premotor-time of the Ankle Muscle during Bilateral Contraction in the Elderly", J. Biomed. Eng. vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 245-250, 2010.
12 G.M. Eom, J. W. Kim, Y. R. Kwon, B. K. Park, J. H. Jun, J. S. Eom, H. Y. Pyeon, J. H. Hong, "Effects of age and sex on the electromyographic reaction time of tibialis anterior muscle contraction", J Korean Acad Rehabil Med, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 229-235, 2011.
13 R.D. Lewis, and J.M.M. Brown, "Influence of muscle activation dynamics on reaction time in the elderly", Eur J Appl Physiol, vol. 69, pp. 344-349, 1994.   DOI
14 J.W. Kim, G.M. Eom, C.S. Kim, D.H. Kim, J.H. Lee, B.K. Park, and J. Hong, "Sex differences in the postural sway characteristics of young and elderly subjects during quiet natural standing", Geriatr Gerontol Int, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 191-198, 2010.
15 J.W. Kim, Y. R. Kwon, H.Y. Chung, G.M. Eom, J.H. Jun, J. S. Chung and B.K. Park, "Age-sex differences in the hip abductor muscle properties", Geriatr Gerontol Int, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 333-340, 2010.
16 J. Chae, G. Yang , B. K. Park, I. Labatia, "Delay in initiation and termination of muscle contraction, motor impairment, and physical disability in upper limb hemiparesis", Muscle Nerve, vol. 25, pp. 568-575, 2002.   DOI
17 P.W. Hodges, and B.H. Bui, "A comparison of computerbased methods for the determination of onset of muscle contraction using electromyography", Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol, vol. 101, pp. 511-519, 1996.
18 J. Lexell, "Human aging, muscle mass, and fiber type composition", J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci, vol. 50, pp. 11-16, 1995.
19 S.J. Buell, and P.D. Coleman, "Dendritic growth in the aged human brain and failure of growth in senile dementia", Science, vol. 206, no. 4420, pp. 854-856, 1979.   DOI
20 N. Vijayashankar, and H. Brody, "A quantitative study of the pigmented neurons in the nuclei locus coeruleus and subcoeruleus in man as related to aging", J Neuropathol Exp Neurol, vol. 38, no. 5, pp. 490-497, 1979.   DOI