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Chair rise strategies in older adults with functional limitations

Donna Moxley Scarborough, MS, PT, et al.

Stick drawings of figures standing up from a seated position.

We present new findings on biomechanical measures that discriminate movement strategies performed by older adults during chair rise (CR). We observed the momentum transfer (MT), exaggerated trunk flexion (ETF), and dominant vertical rise (DVR) CR strategies in a group of older adults with functional limitations. The DVR strategy required the greatest knee torque, while maximum knee torque occurred significantly earlier during the ETF strategy. Peak trunk flexion was the primary distinguishing biomechanical measure for classifying CR strategy. This finding may offer clinicians an easy method of identifying CR strategies during evaluation. We conclude that the MT strategy is the safest and most preferable CR strategy.


Volume 44 Number 1 2007
Pages 33 — 42

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