Accidental Falls, Aged, Aging, Exercise, Exercise Therapy, Postural Balance
Conditions
Keywords
Reactive balance, Aquatic exercise, Aquatic therapy, Fall prevention
Brief 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).
Interventions
OTHERExercise intervention
A ball catching and throwing exercise.
Sponsors
Eadric Bressel
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Ability to stand using a double-leg stance for one minute of time * Ability to walk independently * Normal or corrected to normal vision * Normal or corrected to normal hearing based on a qualitative assessment
Exclusion criteria
* Any neurological or musculoskeletal disorders that may inhibit the participation in the training and testing protocols * A concussion within the past one year before the participation * Any cognitive deficiencies (e.g., memory, concentration, or attention disorder) * One or more 'yes' answered on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) * Fear of water
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Reaction time measures (REACH) | Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes. | Hand contact time during REACH following the cable release will be calculated. |
| Reaction time measures (STEP1) | Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes. | Foot-off time during STEP following the cable release will be calculated. |
| Reaction time measures (STEP2) | Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes. | Foot contact time during STEP following the cable release will be calculated. |
| Rapid response accuracy | Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes. | For the RANDOM block, response accuracy, defined as the percentage of accurate responses, will be calculated. To represent a composite measure of accuracy and speed of response, rapid response accuracy will be calculated using the ratio of response accuracy to the reaction time (%/ms). Foot-off and hand contact data will be used for the calculation. |
| Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test | Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes. | During the REACH, STEP, and RANDOM blocks, the quality of the compensatory reactions will be scored using the Reactive Postural Control section of the Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test. The scores will be ranged from 0 (worst) to 2 (best). |
Contacts
Primary ContactYoungwook Kim
Backup ContactEadric Bressel
Outcome results
None listed