Effects associated to running practice on the movements of the spine, pelvis, and hip of elderly individuals

Abstract

The practice of physical activity, in particular long distance running, has increased among the elderly population. A previous work of our group showed that elderly runners have a different movement pattern of the lower limbs during running in comparison to young adults. However, there is a lack of studies describing the movement patterns of the spine of elderly runners; despite the fact this segment is one of the most affected by ageing and that the spine segment is a constant source of complaints in this population. The goal of this study is to describe and compare the movement patterns of the spine, pelvis, and hip of elderly runners with the patterns of young-adult runners during walking, running, and specific movement tasks with the trunk. We will also describe and compare the movement patterns of elderly runners with the patterns of sedentary elderly individuals only during walking and specific movement tasks with the trunk. For such, we will perform a kinematic analysis of the tasks with a three-dimensional movement analysis system. The investigation of these questions will show how the movement patterns of the spine are affected by ageing and physical activity what will contribute to a better prescription of running and rehabilitation to the elderly population. This work is part of the research project funded by FAPESP coordinated by Marcos Duarte entitled "Movement and posture control in sedentary and runner young and elderly adults" (2008/10461-7). (AU)