A pilot study: Effect of a novel dual-task treadmill walking program on balance, mobility, gaze and cognition in community dwelling older adults
Date
2015
Authors
Nayak, Akshata
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Abstract
A growing body of literature suggests that aging causes restrictions in mobility, gaze, and cognitive functions, increasing the risk of falls and adverse health events. A novel Dual-Task Treadmill walking (DT-TW) program was designed to train balance, gaze, cognition, and gait simultaneously. Eleven healthy community-dwelling older adults (age 70-80 yrs) were recruited to play a variety of computer games while standing on a sponge surface and walking on a treadmill. Data on centre of pressure (COP) excursion for core balance, spatio-temporal gait variability parameters, head tracking performances, and neuropsychological tests were collected pre and post intervention. A significant improvement in balance, gaze, cognition, and gait performance was observed under dual-task conditions. The study thus concludes that DT-TW is a novel intervention program which combines interactive games with exercises to train dual-task abilities in community dwelling older adults.
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Keywords
Treadmill Rehabilitation Platform (TRP), Useful Field of View (UFOV), Rehabilitation, Computer-games, Head tracking performance, Spatio-temporal gait parameters, Dual-task treadmill walking, Executive function, Core balance