Postural balance skills in elderly Signs and Symptoms Other symptoms and signs involving the nervous and musculoskeletal systems
Conditions
Interventions
Balance assessment and training on a Biodex Stability System (BSS) (Biodex Medical Systems Inc., USA) device under two different verbal instruction conditions.
Participants in both groups were instr
Sponsors
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH Zürich) (Switzerland)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Both males and females, 70 years of age and older 2. Assisted living 3. Ability to see a feedback marker on a computer screen 4. A score of 25 or more in the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) 5. Ability to be able to follow verbal instructions in the German language and the ability to stand upright independently
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. A rapidly progressive or terminal illness 2. Acute illness or unstable chronic illness 3. Those who were undergoing balance training at the time of enrolment or had prior experience with the training task
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The following were measured in each training session: 1. The weight shift score for medio-lateral movements on the stable BSS platform 2. Performance time on the unstable BSS platform for the dynamic limits of stability (LOS) test and the dynamic stability index derived from this test | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The following were assessed at baseline (pre-training) and after completion of 10 training sessions (post-training): 1. The Expanded Timed Get-up-and-Go (ETGUG) test. Times for the component tasks are measured using a multi-memory stopwatch. 2. The time for 5 consecutive chair rises without the use of hands 3. The Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) questionnaire as a measure of 'concern' about falling | — |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed