Relationship between postural stability and fall risk in elderly people with lumbar spondylosis during local vibratory stimulation for proprioception: a retrospective study

Abstract

Purpose: Reduced proprioception affects fall risks in elderly people with lumbar spondylosis. The decrease in proprioception in the trunk or lower legs may contribute to a decline in postural stability. We aimed to investigate the association between proprioceptive postural stability and fall risks in elderly individuals with lumbar spondylosis.

Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, the centre-of-pressure displacement was determined in elderly individuals with lumbar spondylosis during upright stance while standing on a Wii Balance Board with their eyes closed (fall-risk group, n = 55; non-fall-risk group, n = 60). Vibratory stimulations at 30 Hz were applied to the lumbar multifidus and gastrocnemius to evaluate the relative contributions of proprioceptive signals used in postural control (relative proprioceptive weighting ratio).

Results: Compared with the non-fall-risk group, the fall-risk group displayed a high relative proprioceptive weighting ratio (p = 0.024). Relative proprioceptive weighting ratio (odds ratio, 1.1; 95% confidence interval: 1.004–1.109) was independently associated with fall risks after adjusting for confounding factors. Among variables related to fall risk, the relative proprioceptive weighting ratio was a significant factor (p < 0.035).

Conclusion: The fall-risk group of elderly individuals with lumbar spondylosis was dependent on the ankle strategy. The fall risk in elderly people with lumbar spondylosis could be due to over-dependence on the input from muscle spindles in the gastrocnemius.

Keywords:

• Lumbar spondylosis
• postural strategy
• proprioception

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the National Centre for Geriatrics and Gerontology for their help with the participants’ recruitment.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

All of the relevant data are presented within the manuscript. All data are available from the authors on request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by a grant from the Geriatrics and Gerontology Research and Development Cost (grant number 26-7).