Why do old people stoop?

Balance and Skeletal Alignment in a Group of Elderly Female Fallers and Nonfallers

“…These findings are in agreement with Brocklehurst et al (1982), who reported a significant relationship between knee angle in standing and postural sway in subjects aged 65-84 years. Cunha et al (1987), however, found that although shank angle relative to the vertical increased with age, this measure was not associated with postural sway in subjects over 65 years of age, and suggested that older individuals may assume a flexed or stooped posture in an effort to lower the center of mass in order to increase stability. Itoi (1991) reported that the increased knee flexion angle was associated with two postural subtypes found in older women with osteoporosis; a total kyphotic curvature of the spine and lower acute kyphosis, where the apex of the kyphotic curvature was at or below the thoracic-lumbar junction.…”

“…Knee joint angles were measured from a lateral photograph, and an ataxiameter was used to record postural sway. Cunha et al (1987), however, found no association between sway path and measures of "stoop" in older adults. Sway path was recorded during relaxed standing using a Kistler force plate.…”

“…Little is known about the effect of these changes on balance and fall incidence in the elderly. Osteoporosis and degenerative joint disease may lead to skeletal deformities, accompanied by muscle and connective tissue changes, which may result in postural control deficits (Cunha et a]., 1987). Kauffmann (1987Kauffmann ( , 1990) suggested a possible relationship between skeletal alignment and balance by noting that postural changes may result in stretch weakness of muscle, particularly the scapular retractors and trunk extensors.…”

“…The reliability of goniometry for measuring lower extremity joint range of motion has been well documented (Boone et al, 1978;Smith and Walker, 1983;Walker et al, 1984). Goniometry has also been used to measure lower extremity joint position and shank angle in two previously cited studies (Brocklehurst et al, 1982;Cunha et al, 1987); however, reliability was not assessed. Intrarater reliability was examined in the current study by measuring knee angle bilaterally in standing in five subjects on two occasions within the same test session.…”

Relationship Between Forward Trunk Lean During Walking and Musculoskeletal Functions for Females

“…But, the vertebral deformity may not always result from a fracture. 5 Cunha et al 6 hypothesized that stooping is an adaptive response to instability, by which elderly persons attempt to improve their balance by lowering the center of mass of the body; however, they did not detect a clear relationship between balance improvement and stooping. A study by Woodhull-McNeal 7 suggested that forward leaning might be related to muscular weakness or even to a fear of instability, as the author found that elderly subjects who were inactive tended to lean more than did active elderly subjects.…”