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Gait disturbance in the elderly: Contribution of an osteopathic treatment

Journal: The AAO Journal Date: 2013/03, 23(1):Pages: 40-45, type of study: randomized controlled trial

Free full text   (https://www.academyofosteopathy.org/aaoj)

Keywords:

balance [63]
elderly [21]
falling [4]
OMT [2951]
osteopathic manipulative treatment [2973]
posture [76]
randomized controlled trial [710]
stabilometry [6]

Abstract:

Objectives: The prevalence of falling becomes higher with the age of the individual, affecting one in thrree people 65 years and above, and one in two people 80 years and above. The gradual move toward dependency in falling elderly leads to a feeling of abandonment associated with the loss of autonomy. Experts agree on the need for a multidisciplinary management of this public health problem, and focus on the detection of the fragility of falling elderly. Osteopathy, particularly addressing gait, could be part of this preventive approach. Methods: A randomized controlled trial was conducted on healthy but sedentary elderly individuals (19 women and 14 men ages 64 to 72) to assess the impact of osteopathic treatment on preventive care. This included stability of posture and quality of walk. The analysis focused on the comparison of two groups: A “faller” group, including subjects who experienced a falling episode in the last three months (treatment group), and a “non-faller” group, including subjects who did not fall during the last year (control group). Results: The stabilometric comparative analysis of posture in patients older than 64 years showed that fallers focused their bipodal support on a smaller area, but spent more energy stabilizing. In addition, the analysis confirmed that this relative stability is highly dependent on vision. The clinical comparative analysis of posture on this population showed that balance, according to the “functional reach test” and” unipodal support test” is strongly altered in fallers. The clinical comparative analysis of the quality of gait in subjects more than 64 years of age revealed, for the timed “up and go test” (also called “get up and go”), fallers were more hesitant and less by swift alteration of the regularity of their stride. Finally, the comparative analysis of the data for fallers, before and after treatment, showed a favorable impact of the osteopathic treatment. Conclusion: From results obtained in a population of 33 subjects, an absolute rule cannot be declared. However, it is interesting to note that fallers of this population tend to control their posture with their eyes, and remain vulnerable if no support is offered to them. A thorough analysis of the impact of osteopathic treatment on the body, including the muscles and joints of the musculoskeletal system, would undoubtedly be of interest in the study of patients likely to fall.


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