Disability and gait disturbances in older adults: a systematic review

Resumen

Background: there are different alterations that produce changes in the progress of the elderly which, cause effects on the march producing a physical deterioration and establishing a relative fear of having falls. There is a high percentage, of about 93% of the geriatric population, of pathologies and alterations in the feet, percentage that is increasing with the progressive increase of the age. Because of these changes and the increase in the number of postural alterations, there is a progressive decrease in walking speed. The main objective of our review was to analyze the different technical aids that are used by older adults, including as an aid to wander footwear.

Methods. A Narrative review was carried out, whose search was conducted for studies published in different languages, by examining the Pubmed; Enfispo, CINAHL; and Google Scholar databases. The inclusion criteria were studies related to alterations of the walking of older adults who use technical aids to improve walking, in patients over 60 and studies published in English or Spanish.

Results: Of the potential 861 articles identified, 13 studies were included in the review for qualitative synthesis after the analysis. The imbalances have to be monitored and studied by professionals to be able to change technical assistance if necessary and that the patient does no suffer a worsening in your ambulation and quality of life.

Conclusions: Due to the varied gait alterations, the treatment of these should be multidisciplinary. The importance of the Podiatrist's work in maintaining a walking and walking as physiologically as possible.

Keywords: older adults, technical aids, disability.