The purpose of the panel will be to discuss the ramifications of the numerous aging-related declines and how they impact the risk of injury in the workplace. Specific attention will be given to how the various components of the musculoskeletal system interact with each other. The discussion will provide potential intervention strategies that accommodate for the special needs of older workers. Through the diverse backgrounds of the panelists, a more comprehensive dialogue will provide better evidence of the strength and weaknesses of the literature regarding this rapidly growing at-risk population.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (2001). U.S. Department of Labor.
2.
BabcockR. L.SalthouseT. A. (1990). Effects of increased processing demands on age differences in working memory. Psychology and Aging, 5, 421–428.
3.
BaileyR. W. (1982). Human performance engineering. A guide for systems engineers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
4.
BarrettD. S.CobbA. G.BentleyG. (1991). Joint proprioception in normal, osteoarthritic and replaced knees. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 73, 53–56.
5.
ChaffinD. B.Ashton-MillerJ. A. (1991). Biomechanical aspects of low-back-pain in the older worker. Experimental Aging Research, 17, 177–187.
6.
ChaffinD. B.HerrinG. D.KeyserlingW. M. (1978). Preemployment strength testing: An updated position. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 20, 403–408.
7.
DavisK. G.MarrasW. S.HeaneyC. A.WatersT. R.GuptaP.The Impact of Mental Processing and Pacing on Spine Loading. Spine, 27 (23), 2645–2653.
8.
FernieG. R.GryfeC. I.HollidayP. J.LlewellynA. (1982). The relationship of postural sway in standing to the incidence of falls in geriatric subjects. Age and Ageing, 11, 11–16.
9.
GargA. (1991). Ergonomics and the older worker- An overview. Experimental Aging Research, 17, 143–155.
10.
GilsingM. G.Van den BoschC. G.LeeS. G.Ashton-MillerJ. A.AlexanderN.B.SchultzA. B.EricsonW. A. (1995). Association of age with the threshold for detecting ankle inversion and eversion in upright stance. Age and Ageing, 24, 58–66.
11.
GranataK. P.MarrasW. S. (1993). An EMG-assisted model of loads on the lumbar spine during asymmetric trunk extensions. Journal of Biomechanics, 26, 1429–1438.
12.
GranataK. P.MarrasW. S. (1995). The influence of trunk muscle coactivity upon dynamic spinal loads. Spine, 20, 913–919.
13.
HanssonT.RoosB. (1980). The influence of age, height, and weight on the bone-mineral content of llumbar vertebrae, Spine, 5, 545–551.
14.
JagerM.LuttmannA. (1992). The load on the lumbar spine during asymmetrical bi-manual materials handling. Ergonomics, 35, 783–805.
15.
KortelingJ. E. (1993). Effects of age and task similarity on dual-task performance. Human Factors, 35, 99–113.
16.
MarrasW. S.GranataK. P. (1997). Changes in trunk dynamics and spine loading during repeated trunk exertions. Spine, 22, 2564–2570.
17.
MasdeuJ. C.WolfsonL.LantosG.TobinJ. N.GroberE.WhippleR.AmermanP. (1989). Brain white-matter changes in the elderly prone to falling. Archives of Neurology, 46, 1292–1296.
18.
McArdleW.KatchF. I.KatchV. L. (1981). Exercise physiology: energy, nutrition and human performance. Philadelphia, PA: Lea and Febiger Publishers.
19.
MillerJ. A. A.SchmatzC.SchultzA. B. (1988). Lumbar-disk degeneration- correlation with age, sex, and spine level in 600 autopsy specimens. Spine, 13, 173–178.
20.
OverstallP. W.Exton-SmithA. N.ImmsF. J.JohnsonA. L. (1977). Falls in the elderly related to postural imbalance. British Medical Journal, 1, 261–264.
21.
PaiY. C.RymerW. Z.ChangR. W.SharmaL. (1997). Effect of age and osteoarthritis on knee proprioception. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 40, 2260–2265.
22.
PetrellaR. J.LattanzioP. J.NelsonM. G. (1997). Effect of age and activity on knee joint proprioception. American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 76, 235–241.
23.
RosenhallU.RubinW. (1975). Degenerative changes in the human vestibular sensory epithelia. Acta Otolaryngol, 79, 67–80.
24.
SalthouseT. A. (1976). Speed and age: multiple rates of age decline. Experimental Aging Research, 2, 349–359.
25.
SantiagoF. R.RomeroP. P. A.MachadoE. L.EsponaM. A. G. (1997). Calcification of lumbar ligamentum flavum and facet joints capsule. Spine, 22, 1730–1734.
26.
SheldonJ. H. (1963). Effect of age on control of sway. Gerontologica Clinica, 5, 129–138.
27.
SidebothamP. (1988). Balance through the ages of man. Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 102, 203–208.
28.
SitR. A.FiskA. D. (1999). Age-related performance in a multiple-task environment. Human Factors, 41, 26–34.
29.
SkinnerH. B.BarrackR. L.CookS. D. (1984). Age-related decline in proprioception. Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research208–211.
30.
StelmachG. E.StelmachG. E.ZelaznikH. N.ZelaznikH. N.LoweD.LoweD. (1990). The influence of aging and attentional demands on recovery from postural instability. Aging, 2, 155–161.
31.
TaylorJ. R.TwomeyL. T. (1986). Age changes in lumbar zygapophyseal joints: observations on structure and function. Spine, 11, 739–745.
32.
ThelenD. G.BrockmillerC.Ashton-MillerJ. A.SchultzA. B.AlexanderN. B. (1998). Thresholds for sensing foot dorsi- and plantarflexion during upright stance: Effects of age and velocity. Journals of Gerontology Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical, 53, M33–M38.
33.
WelfordA. T. (1985). Changes of performance with age: An overview. In Aging and Human Performance (pp. 333–335. New York, NY: Wiley.
