Fear of falling and hip muscular strength in independent older adults of the community

ABSTRACT The fear of falling can cause older adults to develop strategies that alter the semi-static and dynamic balance, predisposing them to increased risk of falling. The muscular function of abductors and adductors plays an important role in maintaining postural stability. However, it is unknown whether older people with fear of falling have greater impairment in hip muscular function. Thus, the objective was to compare the isometric peak torque (PT) of hip abductor and adductor muscles among older adults with and without fear of falling. Participants were divided into two groups: with (n=81) and without (n=81) fear of falling. The PT of hip abductors and adductors was obtained with isokinetic dynamometer (System 4 Pro, Biodex, New York, USA). The PT groups were compared using general linear model univariate, adjusted for covariates age, sex, body mass index, physical activity level and history of falls, using the SPSS 17.0 software, with a significance level of 5%. No difference was found between the PT of hip abductor and adductor and the groups after univariate analysis with adjustment. We observed that older people with fear of falling have no muscle function loss of the hip stabilizers when compared with subjects without fear of falling.