Relationship between balance performance and musculoskeletal pain in lower body comparison healthy middle aged and older adults

The purpose of this study was to determine relationship between balance performance and pain in lower body among healthy adults. Two hundred and forty volunteer subjects (125 middle aged and 115 elderly people) aged 50 years and above participated. The average age was 61.52 +/- 8.22 years (range 50-75 years). The functional reach test (FRT) was used to measure balance ability. The visual analog scale (VAS) was used to measure pain intensity. Subjects were also asked to indicate sites they experienced pain in their lower body (e.g., low back, hip, knee, ankle, toes). Falls history was also recorded. The elderly people had a lower FRT score as compared to the middle-aged adults (p < 0.001). Knee, low back, and hip pain were most common in both groups. The elderly people reported more frequency of falls than the middle-aged adults. The score of the FRT was higher among men (20.67 +/- 7.16 cm) than among women (18.77 +/- 6.59 cm). In both groups; the women had a higher VAS score than those of matched the men. Although the middle-aged adults had higher and better scores than the elderly people, the data showed that the middle-aged adults are also at risk and should be prepared properly for healthy aging. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.