AGE-DIFFERENCES IN MOVEMENT PATTERNS USED TO RISE FROM A BED IN SUBJECTS IN THE 3RD THROUGH 5TH DECADES OF AGE

Background and Purpose. The purposes of this study were to describe th e movement patterns of middle-aged adults when rising from a bed and t o determine whether there are age-related differences in movement patt erns across the third through fifth decades of age. Subjects. Ninety-t hree adults (30 men, 63 women), ranging in age from 30 to 59 years, pa rticipated in the study Methods. The subjects were videotaped during 1 0 trials of rising from a bed Subjects comprised three age groups, as defined by the decades of the thirties, forties, and fifties Movement patterns for four body regions were used to classify the videotaped pe rformances. The incidence of each movement pattern was determined for each decade and graphed Results. Subjects in their thirties differed f rom older subjects in movement patterns used to rise from a bed Moveme nt pattern incidence varied across age groups for each body region. Th e movement Patterns of one body region predominated in reverse order o f a previously proposed developmental sequence. Conclusion and Discuss ion. Results indicate physical therapists should consider the patient' s age when selecting movement patterns to teach.