Background. The identification of specific risk factors for falls in community-dwelling elderly persons is required to detect early changes and permit a preventative approach to management. This study determines the ability of various laboratory measures and clinical tests of postural stability to prospectively predict fallers in community-dwelling elderly women.

Age, visual condition, and support surface were significant variables influencing postural stability in women. Reliance on vision for postural stability was evident for women from the 40s when single-limb stance was tested, from the 50s when bilateral stance on foam was tested, and from the 60s when a firm surface was used. The cause(s) of this decline in stability requires further investigation, and screening for postural instability between the ages of 40 and 60 is advocated.

The ability to recover balance using a feet-in-place response was more attentionally demanding in balance-impaired than in healthy elderly persons. The recovery of balance was also slower and less efficient in balance-impaired elderly persons when simultaneously performing a cognitive task, whereas the ability of healthy elderly individuals to recover was not influenced by concurrent task demands. This suggests that dual-task performance may contribute to postural instability and falls in balance-impaired elderly individuals.

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This research confirms the asymmetrical nature of amputee stance and demonstrates symmetry of strength and gait measures between limbs. The correlations between hip abductor muscle strength, weight distribution and gait measures illustrates the importance of pre- and post-operative training of these muscles.

Difficulty performing more than one task at a time is common in people with Parkinson's disease, resulting in interference with one or both tasks. While studies have shown that greater interference in gait occurs with more complex concurrent tasks, the impact of the type of concurrent task is unclear in the Parkinson's population. Thus the first purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the concurrent task (calculation, language, or motor) on gait in people with Parkinson's disease. As visual cues are commonly used to aid stride regulation in people with Parkinson's disease, the second purpose of this study was to determine whether this method of increasing stride length was still effective if other tasks were performed simultaneously. Sixteen patients with Parkinson's disease and 16 gender- and age-matched controls performed six cognitive and motor concurrent tasks when seated, walking 10 m, and walking over visual cues. Stride length decreased in people with Parkinson's disease when performing the concurrent calculation and language tasks, but not with the motor task. The language task was more complex than the calculation task, thus the effect was not due to task complexity alone. Visual cues were effective in improving stride length whilst maintaining velocity in people with Parkinson's disease, even when performed under dual task conditions. These findings highlight the importance of the task when assessing and retraining dual tasking during gait, and suggest that retraining dual tasking can occur whilst simultaneously using visual aids to regulate stride length.

The clinical lateral reach test was found to be an accurate measure of lateral reach ability. As it was significantly correlated with COP excursion it was deemed a valid indicator of lateral stability limits. In addition, the lateral reach test had high test-retest repeatability and was symmetrical between the sides. These promising results support both it's use where a clinical indicator of medio-lateral postural stability is desired and further investigation of the lateral reach test in clinical populations.