Age-related changes in postural control for wearing shoes using different process of leg-raising processes in the sitting position: a pilot study

[Purpose] Wearing shoes can be difficult for people who experience movement difficulties. This study aimed to compare young adults and senior adults while wearing shoes in order to quantify kinematic, physiological, and ergonomic points of variance. [Participants and Methods] Nine young adults (mean age, 21 years) and nine senior adults (mean age, 70 years) were included in the study. We investigated four postural combination of using hand and crossing legs used while wearing shoes: 1) time required to wear shoes, 2) the center of pressure point, 3) muscle activation within the right sartorius, the left rectus femoris, the gluteus maximus, and the internal oblique, and 4) the perceived ease of task performance via a numerical rating scale. [Results] The activities of the internal oblique and the gluteus maximus were significantly higher in senior adults than in young adults. Wearing shoes without using hands was associated with the highest value for the ease of performance among the four patterns for both groups. [Conclusion] Our results suggested that the muscles analyzed in this study were important for safety and postural maintenance while performing activities of daily living tasks in leg-raising processes in the sitting position, with lower level of muscle activity.