노인 보행에 대한 임상의사의 관점

Clinician’s Perspective on Elderly Gait

In the elderly, walking is an essential function that must be maintained for daily life and health. The elderly’s walking abnormality is composed of limiting factors from underlying disease and compensatory actions for the limiting factors. To provide appropriate clinical management, limiting factors and compensatory actions should be distinguished. Modification of limiting factors and/or compensatory actions should be attempted when there are long-term benefits. Because clinical interventions for gait modification are based on neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, motor control, and motor learning theory, there are various treatment options. Therefore, clinicians and elderly patients need continuous and close communication for successful walking modification.