SUBJECTS were community dwelling adults able to walk and
stand independently. Participants were excluded if they were
unable to stand independently in single leg stance for at least 10
seconds or if they had any balance impairment. Subjects were
divided into 3 groups: young (20-39 y.o.; n=78) middle (40-59
y.o.; n=75) and geriatric group (> 60 years of age; n=79).
PROTOCOL: Subjects stood barefoot with their stance foot
placed in the center of the Star Grid. The foot was positioned
with the medial and lateral malleoli aligned with line 1C-2C
while their second toe and calcaneous were aligned with line
1A-1E (see figure 1). When the subject stood on the right lower
extremity (LE) they reached with their left LE toward the 5
lines that begin with the number 1 (1A-1E). When standing on
the left LE, they reached with the right LE toward the 5 lines
that begin with the number 2 (2A-2E). Each line was made
from a tape measure with the “zero point” at the intersection of
the lines in the center of the Star Grid. Subjects were instructed
to reach as far as possible without a loss of balance and “tap”
the great toe on the designated lines. If a subject shifted their
weight onto the reaching LE the trial was disallowed and the
subject repeated the move. Subjects were required to keep the
stance foot flat on the grid and to minimize the amount of
counter-balancing by keeping the arms relaxed at their sides.
“Reach” was quantified by reading the point on the tape
measure that matched the furthest excursion of the great toe.
Subjects performed 3 trials for each of the 10 movements (5
movements for each LE).
DATA ANALYSIS: Data was analyzed using SPSS v15.0. An
ANOVA was used to compare group physical characteristics.
The 3 trials for each movement of the Star Test were converted
to a mean for each movement and an overall test mean.
“Normalized reach” was determined by dividing reach by
subject height. An ANOVA was used to compare normalized
reach between the 3 groups. The strength of the relationship
between age and normalized reach was examined using a
Pearson rho (r) for parametric data. Nonlinear regression