This study aimed to examine the reliability and sex-and age-related differences of step tests with stipulated tempos as well as to clarify useful test parameters and tempos. One hundred forty elderly people and fifty young adults conducted tapping and stepping tests, matching the tempo provided by a metronome. Both tests involve movements where the subject touches a sheet with both the right and left hands or right and left legs at a designated spot. Evaluation parameters were the time difference between the beep sound and the time at which the sheet was touched in both tests as well as two-leg support and one-leg support times in the step test. The trial-to-trial reliability of the parameters in both tests was high. The time differences of both 40 bpm tests in the elderly were larger in males than in females. In the step test, the time difference and two-leg support times of the elderly were larger, in the order of 40, 60, and 120 bpm, and the oneleg support time was less in 40 bpm than 60 bpm or 120 bpm. The one-leg support time of the young subjects was larger, in the order of 40, 60, and 120 bpm. A significant age-related difference was found in the 40 bpm and 60 bpm test, and the time difference and two-leg support time were larger in the elderly while the one-leg support time was larger in the young subjects. The time difference at 40 bpm in the elderly was larger in the step test than in the tap test. There was no significant difference between both tests in the young subjects. In conclusion, the step test with the slow tempo, because it requires a long one-leg support phase, is effective for evaluating dynamic balance in the elderly. The time difference and two-leg and one-leg support times are effective evaluation parameters of the step test.

Aim: This study aimed to examine sex and age differences of various stepping movements in the elderly and to clarify useful stepping movements for evaluation of their dynamic balance. Methods:Two hundred and eighty-six healthy elderly subjects who could walk independently (male mean age = 71.2 1 7.1 years; female mean age = 71.5 1 6.0) performed the following stepping tests: back and forth; up and down with a 5 cm tall step; and in-place stepping matching three tempos (44, 66 and 132 b.p.m.).Step number, single and double support times in the former two stepping tests, and time difference between metronome sound and grounding time in the latter tempo stepping tests were selected as evaluation parameters.Results: An insignificant sex difference was found in all parameters. Hence, the data of men and women was pooled to examine age differences. Significant age differences were found in the step number and double support time of back and forth and up and down stepping tests and in the time difference of three tempo stepping tests. The step number in younger age groups and the support times in older age groups tended to be larger. Conclusion:No sex difference was found in evaluation parameters of all stepping tests, and all parameters tended to be superior in the younger elderly. The elderly experienced more difficulty matching slow tempos than fast tempos in the in-place stepping test. The back and forth, up and down and in-place matching tempo stepping tests may be useful for evaluating dynamic balance ability of the elderly.

This study aimed to examine the relationships among various stepping parameters, sex, and age in the elderly. Healthy elderly Japanese individuals 60-85 years old (50 males and 61 females) performed 4 types of stepping motions for 20 s. Stepping motions included bilateral stepping (back/ forth and right/left) and unilateral stepping (back/forth and right/left). The number of steps, the average connecting time of a foot during one step, and the average time of both feet touching the floor at the same time (bilateral connecting time)were measured with a foot switch sheet. The trial-to-trial reliability was very high (above 0.86) except for the bilateral connecting time in the bilateral stepping back/forth test for 70-85 year olds (males: 0.67, females: 0.68). With age, the number of steps was significantly smaller, and the average connecting time and the bilateral connecting time were shorter in all stepping tests. There were significant sex differences in bilateral connecting time for bilateral stepping right and left and the number of steps for the bilateral stepping back and forth and the unilateral stepping right and left tests. The number of steps and average connecting time showed high correlations between bilateral stepping right/left and back/forth (rϭ0.71-0.94) and between unilateral stepping back/forth and right/left (rϭ0.87-0.99). There were significant correlations of the average connecting time between bilateral and unilateral stepping motions (rϭ0.51-0.83), but both stepping motions are considered to have different motion properties from the viewpoint of center of gravity sway. The correlations between the bilateral connecting time and the number of steps in bilateral stepping were relatively low (males: ͯrͯϽ0.70, females: ͯrͯϽ0.57). The bilateral connecting time was near 0 s in many males; thus, it may depend greatly on individual or sex differences in stepping strategy. These results suggest that the stepping motions used in this study can evaluate dynamic balance ability, and that the unilateral test may be useful for the elderly who cannot walk independently with ease.

This study aimed to examine the performance characteristics of a step test with stipulated tempos, used to evaluate the dynamic balance ability of the elderly, as well as the relationship between this step test and walking ability. Ninety-two healthy older women (age 70.9Ϯ6.1 yr) who could walk independently, twice performed a 10 m walk at maximum speed and a step test for 20 sec with varying metronome tempos (40 bpm, 60 bpm, and 120 bpm). Subjects were divided into three groups (G1-G3) based on their 10 m gait time. Group 3 (G3), with the longest gait time, experienced the most falls.One evaluation parameter was the total time difference between the metronome sound and the time when the subject's foot hit the ground. The gait time was significantly related to the time difference in the 40 bpm and 60 bpm tempos (rϭ0.22-0.59). In step tests with slower tempos (40 bpm and 60 bpm), group G3 had a significantly larger time difference than the other two groups. In conclusion, a step test with slow tempos has a close relationship with the walking ability of the elderly and may be useful in evaluating their dynamic balance ability related to locomotion.

BackgroundStepping over an obstacle is a kind of compound movement that makes walking more difficult, especially for preschool children. This study examines sex and age-level differences in walking time in preschool children on an obstacle frame.MethodsThe participants included 324 healthy preschool children: four-year-old boys (51) and girls (51), five-year-old boys (50) and girls (60), and six-year-old boys (62) and girls (50). A 5 cm- or 10 cm-high obstacle (depth 11.5 cm, width 23.5 cm) was set at the halfway point of a 200 cm × 10 cm walking course.ResultsThe participants walked to the end of the course and back as fast as possible under three conditions: no obstacle, low obstacle and high obstacle. Walking time showed age-level differences in all conditions, but there were no differences in sex. Age levels were divided into two groups, with one group within the first six months of their birthday, and the second group within the last six months of that year. Walking time for children in the first half of their fourth year was longer than that of the five- and six-year-old children. In addition, for children in the last half of their fourth year, walking time was longer than both sexes in the last half of their fifth and sixth years. The children in the latter half of their fifth year had a longer walking time in the high obstacle condition than those in the last half of their sixth year. In the four-year-old participants, walking time was shorter with no obstacles than with a high obstacle frame.ConclusionsIn the above data, obstacle course walking time does not show a gender difference, except that the four-year-old participants needed longer than the five- and six-year-old children. Setting the obstacle 10 cm high also produced a different walking time in the five- and six-year-old participants. The high obstacle step test (10 cm) best evaluated the dynamic balance of preschool children.