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PREVALENCE, MORBIDITY, AND MORTALITY
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Gait and balance problems are common in the elderly and contribute to the risk of falls and injury. Gait disorders have been described in 15% of individuals older than 65. By age 80 one person in four will use a mechanical aid to assist with ambulation. Among those 85 and older, the prevalence of gait abnormality approaches 40%. In epidemiologic studies, gait disorders are consistently identified as a major risk factor for falls and injury.
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A substantial number of older persons report insecure balance and experience falls and fear of falling. Prospective studies indicate that 30% of those older than 65 fall each year. The proportion is even higher in frail elderly and nursing home patients. Each year, 8% of individuals older than 75 suffer a serious fall-related injury. Hip fractures result in hospitalization, can lead to nursing home admission, and are associated with an increased mortality risk in the subsequent year. For each person who is physically disabled, there are others whose functional independence is limited by anxiety and fear of falling. Nearly one in five elderly individuals voluntarily restricts his or her activity because of fear of falling. With loss of ambulation, the quality of life diminishes, and rates of morbidity and mortality increase.
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ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
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An upright bipedal gait depends on the successful integration of postural control and locomotion. These functions are widely distributed in the central nervous system. The biomechanics of bipedal walking are complex, and the performance is easily compromised by a neurologic deficit at any level. Command and control centers in the brainstem, cerebellum, and forebrain modify the action of spinal pattern generators to promote stepping. While a form of “fictive locomotion” can be elicited from quadrupedal animals after spinal transection, this capacity is limited in primates. Step generation in primates is dependent on locomotor centers in the pontine tegmentum, midbrain, and subthalamic region. Locomotor synergies are executed through the reticular formation and descending pathways in the ventromedial spinal cord. Cerebral control provides a goal and purpose for walking and is involved in avoidance of obstacles and adaptation of locomotor programs to context and terrain.
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Postural control requires the maintenance of the center of mass over the base of support through the gait cycle. Unconscious postural adjustments maintain standing balance: long latency responses are measurable in the leg muscles, beginning 110 milliseconds after a perturbation. Forward motion of the center of mass provides propulsive force for stepping, but failure to maintain the center of mass within stability limits results in falls. The anatomic substrate for dynamic balance has not been well defined, but the vestibular nucleus and midline cerebellum contribute to balance control in animals. Patients with damage to these structures have impaired balance while standing and walking.
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Standing balance depends on good-quality sensory information about the position of the body center with respect to the ...