NCT05107817

Aquatic Exercise and Reactive Balance

Catching and Throwing Exercises to Improve Reactive Balance: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol for the Comparison of Aquatic and Dry-land Training Environments

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 44 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Eadric Bressel · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The present clinical trial aims to identify if skills acquired during aquatic exercise are more effectively transferred to a reactive balance task than land exercise. This study is designed as a double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial. Forty-four older adults aged 60 years or above who meet the eligibility criteria will be recruited and randomized into an aquatic exercise group or land exercise group. Each group will participate in the same balance training exercise during a single session that includes a ball throwing and catching task. A modified lean-and-release test will be implemented on land immediately before, after, and one week after the training session. The outcomes will include reaction time, rapid response accuracy, and mini-BESTest scores obtained from stepping and grasping reactions.

Detailed description

During the modified lean-and-release test, there are two possible settings: 1) the leg block is placed in front of both legs, and a safety handle is uncovered; or 2) the leg block is removed, and the safety handle is covered. The leg block and handle cover will be controlled via computer-triggered, servo motors. The testing session will be comprised of three blocks: 1) REACH (grasping a safety handle using their right hand while maintaining both feet fixed), 2) STEP (stepping forward using any leg), and 3) RANDOM (random variations of STEP and REACH).

Conditions

• Aging
• Aged
• Accidental Falls
• Postural Balance
• Exercise
• Exercise Therapy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Exercise intervention	A ball catching and throwing exercise.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-01
• Primary completion: 2027-09-01
• Completion: 2027-09-01
• First posted: 2021-11-04
• Last updated: 2025-04-08