Knee proprioception in physically active young and elderly women

Abstract

Proprioception is a neuromuscular mechanism that describes neural information originating from the joints, muscles and tendons. This study aimed at verifying proprioception of the knee in young and elderly women with regular physical activity. Subjects were 44 women - 22 elderly, mean age 69.4 years old, and 22 young women, mean age 22.5 years old. Proprioception was assessed by the sense of joint position, the subject being asked to reposition the dominant leg previously flexed or extended by the examiner. Flexion and extension angles were randomized, and measured by means of a goniometer attached to the subject's leg. The variable considered was the absolute error value, that is, the difference between the angle proposed and the angle shown by the subject. Data were statistically analysed and significance level set at p<0.05. The elderly group mean error was 6.75±3.01º, and the young ladies', 5.73±4.24°; no significant difference (p=0.249) was found between the groups. Hence, although proprioception is known to decline with age, the elderly group showed results similar to the youths, possibly due to the practice of physical exercise, which suggests that the latter constitute a beneficial strategy to lessen the aging natural decline.