Leg-Extension Strength and Chair-Rise Performance in Elderly Women with Parkinson’s Disease
in Journal of Aging and Physical ActivityClick name to view affiliation
The lower extremity performance in elderly female patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease (PD; n = 12) and controls (n = 16) was compared. Isometric dynamometry and force-plate measurements were used. PD patients had lower (p < .05) bilateral (BL) maximal isometric leg-extension force (MF), BL isometric MF relative to body mass, and maximal rate of isometric force development than control participants. BL strength deficit was greater (p < .05) in PD patients than in controls. A significantly longer chair-rise time and lower maximal rate of vertical-ground-reaction-force development while rising from a chair was found in PD patients than in controls. These findings suggest that elderly women with PD have lowered voluntary isometric force-generation capacity of the leg-extensor muscles. Reduced BL leg-extension strength might contribute to the difficulty of individuals with PD to rise from a chair.
Pääsuke, Ereline, Gapeyeva, and Joost are with the Institute of Exercise Biology and Physiotherapy, and Mõttus and Taba, the Dept. of Neurology, University of Tartu, 51014 Tartu, Estonia.
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