Desempenho dos sistemas sensoriais envolvidos na manutenção do equilíbrio corporal em jovens, adultos e idosos

Abstract

The body balance is the capacity of standing or generate acceleration movements and body rotations without oscillations or falls. For this to happen, it is necessary the integrity of different structures and systems, especially visual, proprioceptive and vestibular systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensorial systems involved in body balance maintenance in young, adults and old people using the Foam-Laser Dynamic Posturography. We evaluated 69 subjects, in which 34% of the sample represented by women, 34% by young, 34% by adults and 32% by old people. The elderly group performed significantly better in visual system than other groups. The young group showed visual preference significantly higher than other groups. We concluded that there are differences in the performance of the sensorial systems involved in body balance maintenance among the evaluated age groups, although those differences had a straighter relation with diseases and lifestyle than with the aging process itself.