Effect of Water-Exercise on Balance Function of Healthy Elderly Individuals

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

37 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2006-01-31

Study Completion Date

2007-06-30

Brief Summary

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The proposed project is a Randomized Controlled study design. Seniors (age \>65) willing to participate in the study will be shortly interviewed to assess eligibility according to the inclusion-exclusion criteria. The first 60 subjects who upon questioning were judged to meet the following inclusion criteria:

1. able to stand independently 90 seconds
2. able to walk 10 meters (with cane if necessary)
3. able to understand verbal instructions.

The exclusion criteria will be:

1. Serious visual impairment
2. Inability to ambulate independently (cane acceptable, walker not).
3. Severely impaired cognitive status (score less then 24 in Mini Mental State Examination).
4. Persons with impaired communication capabilities.

The whole project will be conducted over a period of 24 months. The proposed study is a randomized experimental intervention/ control group design. A total of 60 elderly volunteer subjects will be randomly assigned to two groups, exercise group (30) and control group (30). Twelve training periods will be performed with 8 subjects participating in training during each period (4 exercise groups). The exercise group will meet on 24 occasions over a period of 12 weeks (2 times/week).

Gait and balance function will be tested in both groups with well established measuring techniques before and after the training period. The measuring techniques

1. Medical background variables.
2. Berg Balance Scale.
3. Late life Function and Disability Instrument.
4. Get up and go test - stand up and walk 3 meters turn around and walk back to the chair.
5. Fall Efficacy Scale
6. Fall incidence and fall severity.
7. 6-minute walk test. The control group will not perform any specific balance training during the 12 week period.

These individuals from control will participate in a separate exercise program after the training period.

The water training intervention is performed on different levels where each level reflects different increasing demands on the postural control system. The water exercises also include perturbation exercises that trigger specific reflex-like balance responses. On each level the instructor can instantly modify an exercise to be more or less challenging for each participant.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Stability Balance

Keywords

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Falls elderly Balance speed of stepping Stability ELDERLY FALLERS

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

PREVENTION

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Interventions

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water based training program to improve balance

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

1. able to stand independently 90 seconds;
2. able to walk 10 meters (with cane if necessary);
3. able to understand verbal instructions.

Exclusion Criteria

1. Serious visual impairment;
2. Inability to ambulate independently (cane acceptable, walker not).
3. Severely impaired cognitive status (score less then 24 in Mini Mental State Examination).
4. Persons with impaired communication capabilities.

Minimum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Responsible Party

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Ben-gurion Univesity

Principal Investigators

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Itshak Melzer, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Ben-gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

dagan Shvartz, MD

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Locations

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SorokaUMC

Beersheba, , Israel

Site Status

Countries

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Israel

References

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Melzer I, Elbar O, Tsedek I, Oddsson LIe. A water-based training program that include perturbation exercises to improve stepping responses in older adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled cross-over trial. BMC Geriatr. 2008 Aug 17;8:19. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-8-19.

Reference Type DERIVED

PMID: 18706103 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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ISRCTN4046

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: secondary_id

sor404605ctil