- Title
- Establishing static balance profiles using the Biodex Balance System in South African adults residing in the Johannesburg metropolitan area
- Creator
- Ferreira, Simoné
- Subject
- Equilibrium (Physiology), Gender mainstreaming, Movement sequences
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Masters (Thesis)
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10210/285739
- Identifier
- uj:30906
- Description
- Abstract: INTRODUCTION: The ability to balance allows human beings to maintain positional equilibrium by coordinating internal and external forces applied to the body. Balance is a motor skill needed by all individuals and can be influenced by both age and gender. An inability to maintain balance, poses a risk of falling and injury. AIM: The aim of this study was to establish static balance profiles for adult men and women. METHODS: This study followed a quantitative descriptive and comparative cohort research design to establish and compare balance profiles for adult men and women. The population consisted of healthy adult men and women between the ages of 18 and 55 residing in the Johannesburg Metropolitan area. A total of 161 participants who volunteered passed the inclusion criteria. The Biodex Balance System was used to assess static balance, using four different balance protocols: Double-leg stable, double-leg unstable, single-leg stable left and right leg and single-leg unstable left and right leg. Descriptive statistics and non-parametric methods were used to analyse the data. All balance tests conducted using the unstable setting, was conducted at level 8. Balance data was reported using the overall stability index. The significance level of all the statistical tests was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The results of the current study showed that females performed significantly better than males in most of the balance tests performed. There was a significant difference in postural balance between the different age groups in the current study, and balance ability started to decline significantly after the age of 30. Although there were significant correlations between both stature and body weight, and balance ability, these correlations were low and they were poor predictors of balance ability. Thus, both gender and age had significant effects on balance ability in adults and these aspects should be taken into account when comparing test results of individual patients to that of norms and reference values. CONCLUSIONS: The current study’s main contribution was thus, to establish reference values for static balance in male and female adults (aged between 18 and 55 years) residing within the Johannesburg Metropolitan area. Future research may be performed in other regions of South Africa and on other age groups., M.Phil. (Biokinetics)
- Contributor
- Lategan, L., Prof.
- Language
- English
- Rights
- University of Johannesburg
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