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Postural balance is an essential element for theperformance of purposeful activities such as posturalmaintenance or gait and it decreases with age(1).Balance is an ability to maintain the center of gravityon base of support; it is a dynamic phenomenonwhere stability and mobility is in harmony; it isessential for postural maintenance and controlledand coordinating movement(2). Such postural bal-ance ability decreases with age and triggers acci-dents like fall injuries in elderly people(3). Internalfactors related with fall injuries may be divided intophysical and psychological factors and physical fac-tors include muscle strength weakness of the lowerextremities, decreased gait ability, balance ability,grip strength, and sensory motor adjustment, andsensory decline like vision decline(4, 5).The weakening of muscle strength as a main ele-ment for balance and gait ability resulting fromaging has been reported as an important cause ofdisorder in elderly people(6). Muscle strength func-tion decreases about 25% after the age of 65, whichis a characteristic of degenerative diseases in theelderly and such muscle strength weakness resultsfrom decrease in the entire muscle fibers and the sizeof muscle fibers and degeneration in muscle contrac-tion and relaxation(7). Among others, decreasedmuscle strength of the lower extremities is a majoretiology of muscle function decrease(4). In elderlywomen, decrease in the muscle strength of the lowerextremities is fast compared to elderly men and suchdecreased muscle strength reduces balance, flexibili-ty, and gait ability(8). In the elderly who frequentlyundergo fall injuries, muscle strength of both kneesand ankles decreases; In particular, reduction of thecouple force in the dorsiflexor muscles of the anklejoint is considerable and muscle strength of the lowerextremities has been presented as a main factor forbalance adjustment(9). Lower limb muscle strength-ening exercise decreases the rate of fall injuries andimproves range of motion, flexibility, and balance ofthe lower limbs; A diversity of muscle strengtheningexercise has been applied to elderly people withreduced balance ability(10, 11, 12).Elastic band exercise has merits in that it involvesno spatial constraints and men and women of allages may perform it and it is widely applied inhomes, work sites, parks, and welfare service cen-ters. The exercise has drawn attention as an efficientexercise to reduce the risk of injuries from exerciseand to maximize improvement in physical strength |
