Investigating the Relationship of Age, Gender, and Lateralization with Elbow Joint Proprioception

Objective: Decreased or impaired proprioceptive sense may cause abnormal loading, increased risk of injury, and risk to personal safety. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between elbow joint proprioception with age, gender, and dominance. Material and Method: One hundred and twenty nine asymptomatic individuals aged 18-65 years were included in the study. Elbow joint proprioception measurement was performed with joint position sense error measurement. Results: The mean age of the individuals was 30.80±13.29 years. 79 of them were female and 50 of them were male. 9 individuals were left-dominant, and 120 individuals were right-dominant. According to the data, age was associated with joint position sense error measurement (JPSE) in 70º, gender, and dominant side was associated with JPSE in 110º (p<0.01). Conclusion: There is a decrease in proprioceptive precision with increasing age. Male and left-dominant individuals have lower joint position sense errors. These findings indicate that age, hemisphere lateralization, and gender can modulate the perception and representation of movement.