Tactile Sense and Pressure of Toe Contribution to Standing in the Healthy Elderly.

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  • Tanaka Toshiaki
    Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Sciences, Sapporo Medical University, West 17 South 3, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060, Japan.
  • Ino Shuichi
    Laboratory of Sensory Information Engineering, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University
  • Ifukube Tohru
    Laboratory of Sensory Information Engineering, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the toe pressure exerted by, and the tactile sensitivity of the great toe, and to describe two newly developed measures of postural stability. The subjects of the study were 21 healthy volunteers. The subjects were divided into two age groups, the young group (mean 21.0 ± 1.6 years, 7 males and 6 females), and the elderly group (mean 71.4 ± 2.8 years, 4 males and 4 females). First experiment (balance test): The instrument for measuring standing balance was a force plate and data were analyzed to provide two main variables; 1) Body sway index (SI: mm) and Foot pressure (%BW/cm2). The subjects were asked to stand as motionless as possible for 20 seconds. The valuables of body sway were measured under 4 conditions: normal surface with eyes open or closed and soft surface with eyes open or closed. Second experiment (tactile sense test): The experiment utilized a new system which was developed for measuring the tactile sensation. The tactile threshold value was measured with the subject seated in a chair, the back supported, and hip and knee flexed at 90 degrees. The contactor pulled and pushed the toe longitudinally along it axis at a constant velocity of 1 mm/s. There were significant differences between the young and elderly groups in the tactile sense of the great toe. No significant difference between age groups was found for postural sway while the subjects stood on the normal surface with eyes open; however, when they stood on the soft surface with their eyes open or closed, the elderly showed significantly more sway than the young. Moreover, the maximal great toe pressure of the elderly group was significantly greater than that of the young group. The results suggest that reduced tactile sense, deprivation of visual information, and muscle weakness in the toes are all important factors associated with postural instability.

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