Balance Recovery Training for Fall Prevention in Retirement Communities

NCT ID: NCT02551666

Last Updated: 2020-07-14

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 35 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2015-09-30
• Study Completion Date: 2017-05-31

Brief Summary

Falls are the leading cause of injuries and injury-related deaths among older adults over the age of 65 in the United States. To help reduce the number of these falls, there is growing interest in using reactive balance training to improve the reactive response to common perturbations (e.g., tripping and slipping). The goal of this study was to compare treadmill-based reactive balance training versus Tai Chi performed at, and among residents of, older adult senior housing. We hypothesized that participants randomized to reactive balance training (RBT) would show better performance on reactive balance tests compared to participants randomized to Tai Chi. We also hypothesized that participants randomized to Tai Chi would show better performance on clinical tests of balance and mobility compared to participants randomized to RBT. The long-term goal of this work is to demonstrate the value of RBT over Tai Chi for preventing falls resulting from sudden, external perturbations.

Thirty-five residents of five senior housing facilities were allocated to either treadmill-based reactive balance training or Tai Chi training. Both interventions were performed three times per week for four weeks, with each session lasting approximately 30 minutes. A battery of balance tests was performed at baseline, and again one week, one month, three months, and six months post-training. The battery included six standard clinical tests of balance and mobility, and a test of reactive balance performance.

Conditions

Accidental Falls, Aged, Exercise Movement Techniques

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Tai Chi exercise intervention

Participants will perform 30-minute Tai Chi sessions (Yang Short form) 3 times a week for 4 weeks.

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Tai Chi exercise

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants will perform Tai Chi exercises (Yang short form) for 30 minutes, 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Each session will be led by an experienced Tai Chi instructor.

Balance recovery training

Participants will practice balance recovery on a modified treadmill for approximately 30-minutes per session, 3 sessions a week for 4 weeks.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Balance recovery training

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants will practice recovering their balance after a perturbation similar to tripping while walking. Each of these 'balance recovery training' sessions will last approximately 30 minutes, and will be performed 3 times per week for 4 weeks.

Interventions

Balance recovery training

Participants will practice recovering their balance after a perturbation similar to tripping while walking. Each of these 'balance recovery training' sessions will last approximately 30 minutes, and will be performed 3 times per week for 4 weeks.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Tai Chi exercise

Participants will perform Tai Chi exercises (Yang short form) for 30 minutes, 3 times a week for 4 weeks. Each session will be led by an experienced Tai Chi instructor.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Must be age 70 or older
• Must be a resident of local continuing care retirement community (CCRC)
• Must be able to walk down a long hallway without any aids (cane, walker, etc.)
• Must not have a fragility fracture in the past 10 years
• Must not smoke
• Must not be in physical therapy
• Must not perform more than 150 minutes/week of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity
• Must score 24 or higher on Folstein Mini Mental Status Exam
• Must have less than 20% probability of major osteoporotic fracture as assessed by the fracture risk assessment tool (FRAX) score
• Must not have recently (within 1 year) participated in Tai Chi

• Minimum Eligible Age: 70 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

University of Michigan

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Texas A&M University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Michael Madigan

Professor, Biomedical Engineering

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Michael Madigan, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

References

Madigan ML, Aviles J, Allin LJ, Nussbaum MA, Alexander NB. A Reactive Balance Rating Method That Correlates With Kinematics After Trip-like Perturbations on a Treadmill and Fall Risk Among Residents of Older Adult Congregate Housing. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2018 Aug 10;73(9):1222-1228. doi: 10.1093/gerona/gly077.

Reference Type: RESULT

PMID: 29668910 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Other Identifiers

TexasAMU

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id