Effect of Balance Training in Older Adults

• Register: REBEC
• Last refreshed on: 29 April 2013
• Main ID: RBR-6hp5h9
• Date of registration: 15/01/2013
• Primary sponsor: Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste - Guarapuava, PR, Brazil
• Public title: Effect of Balance Training in Older Adults
• Scientific title: Effect of a Perturbation-based Balance Training Program on the Reactive Neuromuscular Control in Older Adults
• Date of first enrolment: 15/11/2012
• Target sample size: 46
• Recruitment status: recruiting
• URL: http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-6hp5h9/
• Study design: Randomized clinical trial, two-arms, randomized.

Countries of recruitment

Brazil

Contacts

• Name: Luciano Rossi
• Affiliation: Universidade Estadual do Centro - Oeste

• Name: Luciano Rossi
• Affiliation: Universidade Estadual do Centro - Oeste

Key inclusion & exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: Healthy older, between 65 and 80 years, living in the community.
Exclusion criteria: Presence of cardiovascular, neurological or vestibular diseases. Presence of musculoskeletal problems that interferes with static or dynamic balance. Peripheral neuropathies. Use of medication for central nervous system. Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) score less than 19.

Age minimum: 65Y
Age maximum: 80Y
Gender: F

Health Condition(s) or Problem(s) studied

Prevention of Falls in Older Persons
G11.427.690

Intervention(s)

Randomized clinical trial, two-arms, randomized, envolving forty-six healthy women,with age between 65 and 80 years old who are community-dwelling. The volunteers will be randomly divided into two groups-Control Group, (CG, n=23) and exercise group (EG, n=23). The participants will be classified in quartiles according to Timed-up & Go test and randomly assigned to each exercise or control group. In the experimental group (GE) the elderly will receive balance training and in the control group (GC) the elderly will not have any type of training with physical exercises, but will participate in talks about risks of falls and healthy lifestyle habits. Both groups will perform the activities 3 times per week for 6 consecutive weeks. For GE, will be used five disturbance devices for training, and for each unstable device will be held 4 repetitions of 1 minute duration and 1 minute of rest between repetitions, a total of 40 minutes.

Primary Outcome(s)

Muscle activation: will be acquired through surface electromyography of the lower limb muscles during body disturbance. The following variables will be obtained: electromyographic muscle reaction time, time to peak and average muscle activity. Displacement of center of pressure: will be obtained through a force plate during the body disturbance. The following variables will be obtained: anteroposterior and posteroanterior displacement (in centimeters) and the total area of displacement (in centimeters). The data will be assessed before and after six weeks of balance training.

Secondary Outcome(s)

Agility and functional mobility: will be obtained through the time in seconds for testing of lift, walk and sit (Timed up and Go test). Anterior stability limit: will be evaluated by means of Functional Reach test, which detects in centimeters the anterior voluntary body displacement. Central activation failure: is obtained by maximum voluntary contraction associated with electro stimulation of the ankle muscles, measured by means of a load cell. The data will be assessed before and after six weeks of balance training.

Secondary ID(s)

200/2011

CAAE 0256.0.300.000-11

Source(s) of Monetary Support

Fundação Araucária - Brazil

Secondary Sponsor(s)

Universidade Federal do Paraná - Curitiba, PR, Brazil