Postural steadiness and ankle joint compliance in the elderly

Research in progress to identify and model age-related changes in postural steadiness is reviewed. In particular, research evaluating measures of postural steadiness to identify those that can be used to characterize an individual´s postural steadiness based on a single eyes-open/eyes-closed test pair is discussed. The validity of a measure is determined by its intergroup sensitivity and intrasubject reliability. Efforts to evaluate the relative sensitivity of postural steadiness measures to age-related changes in postural control, the relative intrasubject reliability of postural steadiness measures, and the relation between ankle joint compliance and measures of postural steadiness in the elderly is described.<>