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Threshold of lower body muscular strength necessary to perform ADL independently in community-dwelling older adults

Exercise Gerontology Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, ryuichi{at}seijoh-u.ac.jp, Division of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Care and Rehabilitation, Seijoh Un

Mohammod M Islam

Exercise Gerontology Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan

Sung Chul Lee

Exercise Gerontology Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan

Daisuke Koizumi

Exercise Gerontology Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan

Michael E Rogers

Department of Human Performance Studies, Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas, USA

Nobuo Takeshima

Exercise Gerontology Laboratory, Graduate School of Natural Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan

Objective: To determine the thresholds of lower extremity muscle strength below which performing activities of daily living (ADL) is impaired in older adults.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Setting: Community.

Subjects: Forty-nine older adults (81—89 years) were divided into an independent group (n = 25) who needed no assistance and a dependent group (n = 24) who needed assistance to perform ADL.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main measures: Functional independence measures to determine level of disability and muscular strength of hip flexors, hip extensors, knee flexors, knee extensors and ankle dorsiflexors assessed by a hand-held dynamometer (HHD). Muscle groups were tested separately for each leg and values were averaged for the two legs. A ratio of maximal muscular strength to body weight was calculated by dividing the muscular strength (N) by body weight (kg).

Results: Muscular strength thresholds to perform ADL independently were 2.3 N/kg for hip flexors, 1.7 N/kg for hip extensors, 0.7 N/kg for knee flexors, 2.8 N/kg for knee extensors and 2.8 N/kg for ankle dorsiflexors.

Conclusion: The thresholds of lower extremity muscle strength below which assistance is required to perform ADL in community-dwelling older adults were identified. Furthermore, results indicate that the muscular strength of hip extensors is more important in performing ADL than other muscles of the lower extremities.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 22, No. 10-11, 902-910 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0269215508094713


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