Investigating the role of muscle strength and range of motion lower extremity in the elderly: A systematic review study

Introduction: Falling phenomenon is one of the prevalent and serious problems among the elderly that brings about disability and reduction in quality of life for them. Investigating the causes of the fall and identifying the elderly who are at risk of falling, with the aim of reducing and preventing collapse, are deemed integral issues. Hence, this study investigates the role of muscle strength and range of motion of the lower extremity affective in the elderly's fall. Method: In this study, a systemic search was conducted through the electronic databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, MAGIRAN, IRANDOC, and SID. Necessary searches through the articles published from 1984 to August 2017 for English and Persian keywords were carried out. The English keywords sought included elderly, older adult, geriatric, aging, lower extremity range of motion, fall, gait, and lower extremity muscle strength; the Persian ones included the elderly, lower extremity range of motion, lower limb muscle strength, balance, walking, and slipping. After the initial screening performed based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study, the articles published in English and Persian, in terms of the current subject, were investigated. Results: Forty-three articles were selected, and they examined the role of lower extremity muscles and joints in the case of fall by the elderly using the following methods: 1. Age-related weakening of muscle strength and lower extremity range of motion; 2. The correlation between muscle strength as well as range of motion and balance and walking abilities in the elderly; 3. Comparison of muscle strength and range of motion in the elderly (with a background of falling or lack of such a background) and those in the youth; 4. The effect of certain muscles and joints of the lower extremities on the elderly’s balance, fall, and walking. Conclusion: Based on the above findings and results, it appears that as aging grows interaction of muscle strength and lower extremity range of motion with power balance increases. Therefore, the results of this study indicate that measuring muscle strength and lower extremity range of motion is of great value in terms of the assessment of balance disorders and functional skills in the elderly.