Description of movement patterns of young adults moving supine from the foot to the head of the bed.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe the movement patterns (MPs) in young adults moving supine from the foot to the head of a bed. SUBJECTS: Thirty-six young adults, aged 19 through 44 years, participated in this study. METHODS: Subjects were videotaped performing 10 trial of moving in bed. The MPs of 3 body regions were described and categorized. RESULTS: Six MP categories were developed for the axial region, 8 MP categories were developed for the upper extremities, and 6 MP categories were developed for the lower extremities. Kappa values ranged from .81 to .90 for the 3 body regions, Fifty-nine different combinations of MPs were observed. The most common combination of MPs occurred in 21.2% of the trials, 3 times more frequently than any other combination. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: A variety of MPs are used by young adults for moving from the foot to the head of the bed. A symmetrical pattern of sitting up and pushing with both hands and both feet was found to be the most common pattern. [Cohen BG, Cardillo ER, Lugg D, et al. Description of movement patterns of young adults moving supine from the foot to the head of the bed.

Changes in throwing by older adults: a longitudinal investigation.

This investigation examined change in a motor pattern requiring multisegmented coordination in older adults. The overarm throw was observed longitudinally in 8 elderly individuals over 7 years. Data were evaluated using Roberton's (Roberton & Halverson, 1984) movement components. Contrasting the assumed pattern of aging, only small declines in movement form were observed. Individual cases revealed additional, noncategorizable declines within component categories, including slower movement speed and decreased range of motion. Increased trial-to-trial variability also was associated with change. These changes suggested that elderly participants coordinated their movements in a manner similar to younger participants but controlled them differently. The small changes observed in this investigation suggest that performance, at least for some skills, is more stable than traditionally assumed.

Age-related differences in movement patterns used by toddlers to rise from a supine position to erect stance.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Rising from the floor to a standing position is an important milestone in the development of children. The purposes of this study were (1) to describe the movement patterns (MPs) toddlers use when rising to a standing position, (2) to determine whether toddlers' MPs differ with age, and (3) to investigate whether MPs that are proposed to occur earliest in the development of this task predominate in toddlers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Sixty children aged 15 to 47 months were videotaped performing at least six trials of rising. Data were reduced by classifying movements of the upper extremity (UE), axial region (AX), and lower extremity (LE) into categorical descriptions of the action of these body regions. The incidence of each UE, AX, and LE movement pattern was determined for each 10-month age interval and compared across age groups. RESULTS: Two previously unidentified MPs were described for LE action. The youngest children demonstrated the highest incidence of MPs that have been predicted by other researchers to occur early in development. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: In general, toddlers' UE and AX movements were described using previously developed MP categories. Age differences were found among toddlers in the performance of the rising task. Movement patterns of the UE and AX that have been thought to occur earliest in the developmental sequence for this task predominated in this young group.

The effect of solid ankle-foot orthoses on movement patterns used in a supine-to-stand rising task.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Within dynamical pattern theory, ankle motion can be proposed to be a control variable, and solid ankle-foot orthoses (SAFOs) can be considered a constraint to ankle movement. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of SAFOs on movement patterns used to rise from the supine position to erect stance. SUBJECTS: Thirty-nine nondisabled young adults, ranging in age from 20 to 28 years (X = 22.7, SD = 1.87), participated. METHODS: Subjects were videotaped while rising from a supine position on a floor mat. Each subject performed 10 trials under each of four conditions: without SAFOs, right SAFO, left SAFO, and bilateral SAFOs. Movement patterns were described within three body components (ie, upper extremities, axial region, and lower extremities) by determining the mode and the incidence of each movement pattern under each condition. The subjects' mode movement patterns in the no SAFO condition were compared with mode movement patterns in the SAFO conditions using McNemar tests. RESULTS: Without SAFOs, subjects rose most commonly using a push and reach pattern of the upper extremities, a forward with rotation pattern in the trunk, and an asymmetrical squat in the lower extremities. Changes in the incidence of movement patterns occurred in all of the SAFO conditions when compared with the no SAFO condition. These changes resulted in more asymmetry when SAFOs were worn, and asymmetry was most notable in the axial region. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION: From a dynamic pattern theory perspective, ankle motion is a control variable for the supine-to-stand rising task.

Age differences in movement patterns used to rise from a bed in subjects in the third through fifth decades of age.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to describe the movement patterns of middle-aged adults when rising from a bed and to determine whether there are age-related differences in movement patterns across the third through fifth decades of age. SUBJECTS: Ninety-three adults (30 men, 63 women), ranging in age from 30 to 59 years, participated in the study. METHODS: The subjects were videotaped during 10 trials of rising from a bed. Subjects comprised three age groups, as defined by the decades of the thirties, forties, and fifties. Movement patterns for four body regions were used to classify the videotaped performances. The incidence of each movement pattern was determined for each decade and graphed. RESULTS: Subjects in their thirties differed from older subjects in movement patterns used to rise from a bed. Movement pattern incidence varied across age groups for each body region. The movement patterns of one body region predominated in reverse order of a previously proposed developmental sequence. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Results indicate physical therapists should consider the patient's age when selecting movement patterns to teach.

Movement patterns of adolescents rising from a bed.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to describe the movement patterns (MPs) adolescents use when rising from a supine position on a bed to a standing position and to determine whether these MPs vary with age across adolescence. SUBJECTS: Sixty nondisabled adolescents participated in the study. METHODS: Twenty adolescents from each of three age groups (ie, 11, 14, and 17 years) were videotaped performing 10 trials of rising from a bed. The MPs of each of four body regions were described, and the most common forms of movement observed in each age group were determined. RESULTS: The observed incidence (frequency of occurrence) of MPs in each body region varied with age, and in two of the four regions, the predominant pattern varied across age groups. Eighty-nine different forms of rising were observed, with the greatest variability among 11-year-old subjects. The most frequent forms of rising were seen in only 5% to 15% of the trials for each age group; one of these was common across age groups. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: Therapists should consider how MPs vary with age and avoid unnecessarily using a specific approach when teaching this activity.

Throwing patterns of older adults: a follow-up investigation.

Previous investigations of the movement patterns of older adults have focused on functional movements. Performance declines have been reported with increasing age. Many investigations, however, do not require older adults to perform maximal, force producing actions. Smaller declines might be observed if older adults made a maximal effort. This investigation examined changes in a maximal skill--the overarm throw for force. Active, older adults were videotaped as they threw tennis balls. Thirteen people were filmed for two consecutive years. Gender and age differences were examined for movement patterns, ball velocity, and selected kinematic measures. Participants threw using patterns and velocities generally observed in children in middle elementary-school years. This result suggested there was a decline in this force production skill. Some older adults regressed in the movement patterns they used over the two years of testing. Older males threw faster, using more advanced movement patterns than older females.

Life-span development in functional tasks.

A life-span concept of motor development is presented as a framework for interpretation of a series of studies of righting tasks. Beginning with the task of rising from the floor, the use of a component approach for movement pattern description and for the identification of developmental sequences of motor patterns is reviewed. Studies applying this approach to a wide range of age groups and to various functional righting tasks are discussed. Recent studies investigating factors related to movement patterns used to perform one of the righting tasks are also reviewed. Suggestions concerning the ways in which this information could be applied to physical therapy practice are included.

Description of adult rolling movements and hypothesis of developmental sequences.

Physical therapists frequently evaluate and teach patients to roll from a supine to a prone position. The purposes of this study were 1) to describe the rolling movements of adults and 2) to determine whether the movement patterns used to roll might represent different developmental steps within three body regions. Thirty-six healthy adult subjects were videotaped during 10 trials of rolling from a supine to a prone position. Written descriptions of each subject's movements were reduced to general categorical descriptions of movement patterns for three body regions (upper extremities, lower extremities, and head and trunk). Stage theory criteria were used in an attempt to order the movement patterns into developmental sequences. The most common combination of movement patterns was used to describe adults' rolling action. Although stage theory criteria were not met, developmental sequences of movement patterns were proposed for the three body regions. Subjects were quite variable in their rolling movements. The most common form of rolling occurred in less than 12% of the subjects' trials. The descriptions of adults' rolling action gathered in this study provide physical therapists with a variety of movement patterns for teaching patients to roll.

Age differences in movement patterns used by children to rise from a supine position to erect stance.

From the time upright locomotor ability is acquired until the end of the human life span, standing up from the floor is a skill important to a person's physical independence. This study was designed 1) to determine whether within the rising task the movement patterns of different regions of the body vary with age and 2) to describe movements used by children to perform this task. One hundred twenty children, ages 4 through 7 years, were filmed while rising from a supine position. Movement patterns were classified using categorical descriptions of the action of three body regions: the upper extremities, lower extremities, and axial region. The incidence of each movement pattern was calculated and graphed with respect to age. Age differences were found in the incidence of movement patterns of each body region. A trend toward increased symmetry of movement with increasing age was noted. The oldest subjects, however, did not commonly use symmetric form in rising. Developmental change in movement patterns used in the rising task likely continues beyond early childhood.

Rising from a supine position to erect stance. Description of adult movement and a developmental hypothesis.

Standing up from a supine position is important for physical independence. This study was designed to describe movements within specific body regions used to stand up from a supine position. Another purpose was to identify motor developmental sequences for the upper extremities, lower extremities, and axial region for this rising task. Thirty-two young adults were videotaped while rising from a supine position 10 times. Descriptive categories were formed to portray movements of the upper extremities, lower extremities, and axial region. Subjects varied greatly in the movement patterns they used to rise. Only 25% of the subjects demonstrated a similar combination of movements during rising. That combination involved symmetrical use of the limbs and trunk while flexing forward from a supine position, moving through sitting to squatting, then standing. An ordering of categories was found for each body region that was proposed as a developmental sequence of movement patterns for this task. The variability of subjects' movements while rising provides clinicians with numerous movement combinations that might be used when teaching patients to stand from a supine position.

Sit-to-stand movement pattern. A kinematic study.

A visual model of the sit-to-stand movement pattern was developed from the film data of 38 women and 17 men as they assumed standing from a seated position. We used the data from these film records to identify a representative initial starting position and displacements of body segments for each of 20 equal intervals throughout the movement cycle. Trajectories of data points on the head, acromion, midiliac crest, hip, and knee also were plotted. These diagrams demonstrate the time-space relationships of various body parts during the task. This normalized model may be used by physical therapists as a standard to which they can compare the movement pattern of a patient.