The effect of Spinal posture changes on balance control, pain and activity of daily living in elderly subjects

Aging often results in adverse postural changes. It interferes with the normal function of the spinal musculature due to alterations in the moment arm lengths, and force vector orientations. Postural disorder might have been associated with greater risk for adverse outcomes in older adults such as immobility and falls, which in turn can lead to loss of functional independence. So the aim of this study is to review existing studies that evaluated the effect of spine postural disorders on balance control, pain, and activity of daily living in older subjects. Study design: literature review Method: The search strategy was based on the PICO method. A search was performed in Pub Med, Science Direct, Google scholar, ISI web of knowledge databases by using selected keywords. Thirty three articles were selected for final evaluation. The procedure was followed using the PRISMA method. Results: Seventeen of studies that reported associations between postural changes and back pain. All except two study demonstrated that older people have significantly reduced balance control in activities, and report an association between spine postural changes and poor physical function in elderly subjects. Conclusion: postural changes in elderly subjects have a negative impact on balance control, pain and physical function in elderly subjects.