TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hiew, Shawn
A1  - Eibeck, Leila
A1  - Nguemeni, Carine
A1  - Zeller, Daniel
T1  - The influence of age and physical activity on locomotor adaptation
JF  - Brain Sciences
N2  - Background: Aging increases individual susceptibility to falls and injuries, suggesting poorer adaptation of balance responses to perturbation during locomotion, which can be measured with the locomotor adaptation task (LAT). However, it is unclear how aging and lifestyle factors affect these responses during walking. Hence, the present study investigates the relationship between balance and lifestyle factors during the LAT in healthy individuals across the adult lifespan using a correlational design. Methods: Thirty participants aged 20–78 years performed an LAT on a split-belt treadmill (SBT). We evaluated the magnitude and rate of adaptation and deadaptation during the LAT. Participants reported their lifelong physical and cognitive activity. Results: Age positively correlated with gait-line length asymmetry at the late post-adaptation phase (p = 0.007). These age-related effects were mediated by recent physical activity levels (p = 0.040). Conclusion: Our results confirm that locomotor adaptive responses are preserved in aging, but the ability to deadapt newly learnt balance responses is compromised with age. Physical activity mediates these age-related effects. Therefore, gait symmetry post-adaptation could effectively measure the risk of falling, and maintaining physical activity could protect against declines in balance.
KW  - locomotor adaptation
KW  - walking
KW  - physical activity
KW  - exercise
KW  - aging
KW  - balance
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-362478
SN  - 2076-3425
VL  - 13
IS  - 9
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Domokos, Bruno
A1  - Beer, Lisa
A1  - Reuther, Stefanie
A1  - Raschka, Christoph
A1  - Spang, Christoph
T1  - Immediate effects of isolated lumbar extension resistance exercise (ILEX) on spine posture and mobility measured with the IDIAG Spinal Mouse System
JF  - Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology
N2  - Posture and mobility are important aspects for spinal health. In the context of low back pain, strategies to alter postural anomalies (e.g., hyper/hypolordosis, hyper/hypokyphosis) and mobility deficits (e.g., bending restrictions) have been of interest to researchers and clinicians. Machine-based isolated lumbar extension resistance exercise (ILEX) has been used successfully for rehabilitation of patients suffering from low back pain. The aim of this study was to analyse the immediate effects of ILEX on spinal posture and mobility. In this interventional cohort study, the posture and mobility measures of 33 healthy individuals (m = 17, f = 16; mean age 30.0 years) were taken using the surface-based Spinal Mouse system (IDIAG M360©, Fehraltdorf, Switzerland). Individuals performed one exercise set to full exhaustion with an ILEX-device (Powerspine, Wuerzburg, Germany) in a standardized setup, including uniform range of motion and time under tension. Scans were made immediately before and after the exercise. There was an immediate significant decrease in standing lumbar lordosis and thoracic kyphosis. No change could be observed in standing pelvic tilt. Mobility measures showed a significant decrease in the lumbar spine and an increase in the sacrum. The results show that ILEX alters spine posture and mobility in the short-term, which may benefit certain patient groups.
KW  - low back pain
KW  - spine
KW  - posture
KW  - mobility
KW  - exercise
KW  - ILEX
KW  - surface scanner
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-319334
SN  - 2411-5142
VL  - 8
IS  - 2
ER  -