Influences of Aging, Gender, and Handedness on Motor Performance of Upper and Lower Extremities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to collect reference data on different aspects of performance, including reaction time, speed of movement, tapping speed, and coordination of hands and feet using Human Performance Measurement/Basic Elements of Performance equipment and reports of reference data findings. Also, the reliability of the measurements is presented. 200 healthy, randomly selected subjects (100 men, 100 women; aged 21–70 years) were categorized by gender and by age decade into ten groups. The test battery consisted of six tests for both hands and feet. In general, the performance decreased clearly after 50 years in both genders. There were statistically significant differences between hands and feet, dominant and non-dominant sides, age groups, and number of choices, and especially between men and women.