Tests of visual, vestibular, sensori-motor and balance function were administered to 550 women, aged between 20 and 99 years at a Balance and Gait Laboratory. All of the sensory, motor and balance system measures showed significant age-associated differences. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the measures of lower limb sensation were the consistent sensori-motor factors contributing to balance under normal conditions (standing on a firm surface with eyes open or closed). Under more challenging conditions (standing on foam with eyes open) vision, strength and reaction time played significant roles, whilst when standing on foam with eyes closed, vestibular function also made a significant contribution. Analysis of percentage increases in sway under conditions where visual and peripheral sensation systems were removed or diminished, compared with sway under optimal conditions, indicated that up until age 65 there was an increased reliance on vision for balance control. Beyond this age, the contribution made by vision declined, so that in the oldest age-groups reduced vision was less able to supplement peripheral input, resulting in increased sway areas. Peripheral sensation however was the most important sensory system in the maintenance of static postural stability at all ages.
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