Study: aging stiffens ankles, trading speed for stability — SkimNews
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- Flinders University and University of Canberra researchers analyzed movement data from 107 healthy adults aged 26-86, finding meaningful age-related differences in how the ankle and surrounding muscles manage each step.
- Lead author Dr. Cody Lindsay of the Flinders Caring Futures Institute reported that older adults co-contract opposing ankle muscles, stiffening it for stability on ground contact but forcing muscles to work harder while producing less forward motion.
- Older participants generated less push-off power per step, resulting in shorter strides and slower walking speeds than their younger counterparts.
- Co-author Associate Professor Maarten Immink characterized the pattern as the nervous system adopting a 'safety-first' approach — trading efficiency for stability, raising fatigue, and reducing the ability to recover from trips or slips, a key factor in falls.
- The researchers recommend exercise programs that combine balance, coordination, and lower-leg strengthening — such as tai chi — rather than strength training alone, to help preserve mobility with age.
- The findings were published in the journal Gait (DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2026.110202), and the team hopes they will inform falls-prevention and rehabilitation strategies.
Why it matters: For older adults and the physiotherapists who design their rehab, the study identifies ankle co-contraction as a specific neuromuscular trade-off, giving falls-prevention programs a research-based reason to pair balance and coordination work — such as tai chi — with strength training rather than relying on strength alone.
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