Effect of Water-Exercise on Balance Function of Healthy Elderly Individuals (EWEB)

Effect of Water-Exercise on Balance Function of Healthy Elderly Individuals - A Randomized Control Study

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Stability; Balance
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: water based training program to improve balance

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 37
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Israel
  • Beer-Sheva, Israel, 84105
    • SorokaUMC

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years and older (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

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.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Berg Balance Scale	before and 3 months after Training
Late life Function and Disability Instrument	before and after the training
Get up and go test	before and after 3 month of training
Step execution test under single and dual task	before and 3 months after Training
Stability tests	before and 3 months after Training

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Soroka University Medical Center
• Investigators: Study Chair: dagan Shvartz, MD, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• 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.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2006
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2007
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 29, 2008
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 1, 2008
• First Posted (Estimate): July 2, 2008

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): July 2, 2008
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 1, 2008
• Last Verified: November 1, 2005

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Balance; elderly; Stability; Falls; speed of stepping; ELDERLY FALLERS
• Other Study ID Numbers: sor404605ctil; ISRCTN4046