AGE Flexibility has been shown to decrease up to 50% with age in some joint areas. From a base of 1,000 elderly men and women, Bassey et al. (1989) showed that shoulder abduction decreased gradually and consistently with age and was about 25% less in these elderly subjects compared with norms for a younger population. Einkauf et al. (1987) examined the changes in spinal mobility for 109 women aged 20–84 years. The results indicated that spinal mobility decreased with age by 20%, 33% and 50% for anterior flexion, lateral flexion and extension, respectively. Brown and Miller (1998) showed that sit-and-reach ROM decreased approximately 30% for women between 20 and 70-plus years of age. Buckwalter (1997) proposes that a gradual deterioration with age in the cell function within cartilage, ligaments, tendons and muscles is the mechanism for this loss of flexibility. Misner and colleagues (1992) add that collagen, a main constituent of connective tissue, becomes dense (and stiffer) with aging. However, Bassey and associates suggest that this loss of motion can be minimized with regular stretching and ROM exercise.
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