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Mobility in Human Aging

Mobility in Human Aging <p>The development of bipedal mobility was a monumental advance in the evolution of the human being. Human walking is a complex activity, taking a full year to develop after birth and a few more years to be refined and fully functional. Walking is such an important evolutionary advantage and it is so important to survival that its functional architecture is supported by multiple redundant systems, which can be called on to maintain mobility when problems occur. The adaptive plasticity of walking physiology is so robust that children with impairments in physiological systems devoted to gait can still develop a fully functional pattern of gait that, at least on a superficial level, appears indistinguishable from normal development. As people age and develop physiologic deficits such as loss of balance or strength, adaptation can help to maintain mobility, but continued physiologic decrements can overwhelm their adaptive capacity. Loss of mobility occurs when these compensatory mechanisms fail, and often, this failure represents a turning point in the older person's life course—a catastrophic juncture with consequences in almost every aspect of life. </p> http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Annual Review of Gerontology & Geriatrics Springer Publishing

Mobility in Human Aging

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References (88)

Publisher
Springer Publishing
ISSN
0198-8794
eISSN
1944-4036
DOI
10.1891/0198-8794.33.171
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

<p>The development of bipedal mobility was a monumental advance in the evolution of the human being. Human walking is a complex activity, taking a full year to develop after birth and a few more years to be refined and fully functional. Walking is such an important evolutionary advantage and it is so important to survival that its functional architecture is supported by multiple redundant systems, which can be called on to maintain mobility when problems occur. The adaptive plasticity of walking physiology is so robust that children with impairments in physiological systems devoted to gait can still develop a fully functional pattern of gait that, at least on a superficial level, appears indistinguishable from normal development. As people age and develop physiologic deficits such as loss of balance or strength, adaptation can help to maintain mobility, but continued physiologic decrements can overwhelm their adaptive capacity. Loss of mobility occurs when these compensatory mechanisms fail, and often, this failure represents a turning point in the older person's life course—a catastrophic juncture with consequences in almost every aspect of life. </p>

Journal

Annual Review of Gerontology & Geriatrics – Springer Publishing

Published: Feb 1, 2013

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