title: Pain, range of motion and activity level as correlates of dynamic balance among elderly people with musculoskeletal disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of impairment and disability measures on dynamic balance status of elderly patients is well documented in the rehabilitation of neuromuscular disorders. Few studies however considered similar evaluation in musculoskeletal disorders.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the influence of pain, hip range of motion and level of activity on dynamic balance among elderly people with hip osteoarthritis (OA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Elderly patients with hip OA participated in the cross-sectional survey. The impairment measures were assessed using the visual analogue scale and double-arm universal goniometer whilst their levels of activity were assessed with the Barthel Index. Participants performed Turn-180 on two trials by taking steps clockwise and anti-clockwise round a sturdy arm chair. The total number of steps taken to complete each Turn- 180 was determined. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data whilst Pearson moment correlation coefficient determined the correlations of the variables at 95% confidence interval.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study involved 87 participants comprising 40(46%) males and 47(54%) females. The age of the participants ranged from 60 to 74 years with a mean of 65.8±4.5 years. There was a positive and significant correlation (r=0.596; p<0.001) between the participants' pain and steps taken to complete Turn-180. The participants' hip flexibility and the level of activity were also significantly and inversely correlated with the performance of Turn-180.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The dynamic balance of the sampled elderly patients was considerably influenced by pain, hip flexibility and level of activity, thereby putting premium on the assessment of the variables during musculoskeletal rehabilitation of elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Bello
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ababio
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antwi-Baffoe
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Seidu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Laboratory Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
authors.forename: D N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Adjei
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D004856:Postural Balance; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular
keywords: Activity level; Dynamic balance; Hip flexibility; Pain; Turn-180