Restoring Skill in Walking

December 12, 2007 updated by: University of Pittsburgh
The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of an intervention to improve walking based on motor learning (skill-based) compared to the usual intervention (strength, flexibility and balance-based) on clinical, psychological and laboratory measures of walking and balance of older adults with mobility disability (walking problems).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

While therapeutic exercise to improve mobility and balance appears to improve physical performance and may reduce falls, less is known about the responsiveness to specific interventions or the relation between response to intervention and the underlying problems or impairments. Therapeutic approaches for improving mobility and reducing fall risk are heterogeneous, but do not consistently focus on problem solving as a method of enhancing motor control or skill, an approach that has been found to be important for motor learning in animal models.

This two-year pilot study will allows us to compare the clinical, psychological and laboratory outcomes after a motor-learning based and an impairment-targeted exercise intervention to improve walking in older adults. All subjects will participate in pre and post intervention testing and a 12 week exercise intervention for gait involving either a motor learning (skill enhancement) or impairment-targeted (lower extremity strengthening, flexibility and gait cues).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

48

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • University of Pittsburgh

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

65 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 65 years of age and older
  • Ambulatory (with or without a straight cane, and without the assistance of another person)
  • Have written approval/clearance of their physician to participate in low to moderate intensity, supervised exercise as is characteristic of the interventions for improving gait.

  • Difficulty with walking or balance as indicated by the following two criteria during baseline testing:

    • mild to moderate slowing of walking speed (walking speed ≥ .6m/s and ≤ 1.0m/s) and,
    • gait variability (step length coefficient of variability, CV > 4.5%, or step width CV < 7% or > 30%)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Change in gait variability, energy cost of walking, perception of effort in walking, and adaptability of gait to changing environmental conditions, pre and post intervention (12 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Physical activity, endurance in walking, falls efficacy, performance of usual activities of living, pre and post intervention (12 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pittsburgh

Collaborators

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jessie VanSwearingen, PhD, PT, University of Pittsburgh

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

November 1, 2005

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 12, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 12, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

September 15, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

December 13, 2007

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 12, 2007

Last Verified

December 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0508137

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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