Relationship Between Postural Stability and Falls Risk in Elderly People with Lumbar Spondylosis During Local Vibratory Stimulation for Proprioception: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The proprioceptive postural strategy for elderly people with lumbar spondylosis who are at risk for falls has not been extensively investigated. Aims : We aimed to investigate the relationship between proprioceptive postural stability and falls risk in elderly people with lumbar spondylosis. Methods : In this cross-sectional study, centre-of-pressure displacement was determined in elderly people with lumbar spondylosis during upright stance while standing on a Wii Balance Board with their eyes closed (falls risk group, n = 27; non-fall risk group, n = 88). Vibratory stimulations at 30 Hz were applied to the lumbar multifidus and gastrocnemius to evaluate the relative contribution of different proprioceptive signals used in postural control (relative proprioceptive weighting ratio [RPW]). Results: Compared with the non-fall risk group, the falls risk group showed a high RPW at 30 Hz (P = 0.002) and high falls score (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis revealed that RPW at 30 Hz (odds ratio, 1.2; 95% confidence interval: 1.044–1.194) was independently associated with falls risk after controlling for confounding factors. Among variables of falls risk, RPW at 30 Hz was found to be a significant factor (P < 0.001). Discussion: The falls risk group of elderly people with lumbar spondylosis was at a higher risk for falls, which was exacerbated by RPW at 30 Hz depending on the ankle strategy. A decrease in the input of the muscle spindles in the lumbar multifidus could be a possible mechanism underlying the decreased reliance on lumbar muscle proprioception in these individuals.

Vibration-induced postural reactions: a scoping review on parameters and populations studied

“…Older adults were the second most often studied population, probably because of the well-known age-related decline in sensory processing and postural control (Goble et al, 2011;Eikema et al, 2013Eikema et al, , 2014. Thus, they present a relevant model to verify the validity of the VIB-PR paradigm and identify novel biomarkers of fall risks and sensorimotor dysfunctions (Abrahámová et al, 2009;Eikema et al, 2013;Bekkers et al, 2014;Ito et al, 2020). The same logic applies to pathologies affecting somatosensation, such as stroke (Kessner et al, 2016) or Parkinson's disease (Conte et al, 2013).…”