NCT01547988

Training Improves Balance Control

Improving Balance Control and Self-Reported Lower Extremity Function in Community Dwelling Older Adults - A Randomized Control Study

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 66 (actual)
• Sponsor: Boston University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a group-based functional and specific balance training program on balance function in healthy older adults. It is commonly considered difficult to improve balance function in healthy older adults. The program included dual-task exercises; physical training exercises and a cognitive task (e.g. reading or reciting a story) performed simultaneously, as well as perturbation exercises, where balance is challenged in unexpected ways. The investigators hypothesized that following the proposed training, older adults would improve their speed of taking a step in both single and dual task conditions, refine their ability to control balance when standing still and improve their self-reported physical function.

Conditions

• Accidental Falls

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Balance Training Intervention	The intervention group participated in a total of 24 one-hour training sessions over a period of 12 weeks. The training program utilized different size balls as a general tool in a series of progressively more difficult exercises targeting sitting, standing, and gait-related balance control. The program included exercises at five different levels of progressively more challenging balance exercises. Levels 1-4 focused on voluntarily controlled balance exercises, whereas level 5 also included perturbation exercises to trigger automatic compensatory stepping responses. All levels included attention-demanding dual task exercises that required subjects to simultaneously perform motor and cognitive activities.

Timeline

• Start date: 2001-10-01
• Primary completion: 2003-02-01
• Completion: 2003-08-01
• First posted: 2012-03-08
• Last updated: 2012-03-08

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States