Agility Training on Physical Performance, Cognitive Function and Brain Activities in Elderly

The Effects of Agility Training and Its Relations on Physical Performance, Cognitive Function and Brain Activities in Elderly

Agility comprised of cognitive and physical functions, which influences whole-body movement with change of speed and direction. Agility training is widely used in athletes, and recent studies have begun to apply it into the elderly. Agility training is multidimensional and highly functional, which makes it possible to provide more efficient training in limited time. In elderly, the decrement of cognitive function, muscle strength in the upper and lower limbs, the percentage of body fat, body flexibility and endurance caused by aging will make it difficult for the elderly to perform movements. Therefore, it is essential to explore whether agility training can achieve the improvement of the physical function and cognitive function in elderly, and to find the relationship between the two functions and brain activity. Method: This study will recruit 60 participants, and randomly allocate to control group and agility training. The training groups will have 8 weeks of training, 2 times a week, 45 minutes of training each time. Assessment will be performed before and after intervention in 1-week, and with 1-month follow-up. Assessment including agility ability, physical function, cognitive function, brain activity, and functional assessment scales.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy; Elderly
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Health Education; Other: Agility Training

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 57
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan
    • National Taiwan University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years to 100 years (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. older than 65 years old
2. score of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) ≥ 24
3. able to walk independently for more than 30 meters without assistive aids
4. able to follow orders

Exclusion Criteria:

1. poorly controlled or unstable systematic disease
2. has a history of central nervous system disease
3. currently taking antidepressants, anti-anxiety, or other psychiatric drugs that may affect blood flow in the brain
4. has other medical conditions for which exercise is contraindicated; (5) subjects with achromatopsia.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Health Education	Other: Health Education; Participants in the control group will receive health educational guidelines. Guideline contents include home-based exercise program, nutrition recommendations, and fall prevention education. The home-based exercise program will emphasize how to safely and properly perform stretching and whole-body exercises.
Experimental: Agility Training Group	Other: Agility Training; Participants will receive 60 minutes of exercise, twice a week, for a total of 8 weeks, and training will be conducted by a well-trained physical therapist. The intervention will comprise a 5-minute warm-up, 45 minutes of main exercise, and a 10-minute cool-down period, for a total of 60 minutes each session. During the warm-up and cool-down, participants will do static and dynamic whole-body stretching exercises.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Agility Challenge for the Elderly (ACE)	An agility course developed for a 9m x 18m volleyball court and includes three segments that each aim to test a specific aspect of agility, including stop-and-go, change of direction, and spatial orientation.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fall history and fear of falls	Fall history will be recorded by the number of fall episodes in the past 6 months and whether it caused injury.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Quality of life (QOL)	Quality of life (QOL) will be evaluated by Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36).	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Brain activation	A multichannel wearable fNIRS imaging system (NIRSport2, NIRx Medical Technologies LLC, Glen Head, NY, USA) will be used to detect the hemodynamics of brain areas associated with the agility test, cognitive tasks, and single and dual task walking test.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)	MoCA contains 16 items and 11 categories to assess multiple cognitive domains, is a screening instrument for MCI, and its validity has been established in various clinical groups and countries.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Working memory	The backward digit span test (DGS) will be used to measure working memory.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Mental set shifting	The Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) will be used to measure participants' ability to shift their cognitive ability in response to the demands of environment.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Selective attention and inhibition	The Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) will be used to measure selective attention.	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
Motor Function	Walking performance, normal walking, cognitive dual-task walking, muscle strength of bilateral lower limbs, five times sit to stand test, timed up and go, quiet static standing task, and the 360° turning task, flexibility, 6-minute walk test (6WMT)	Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yan Ci Liu, PhD, National Taiwan University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 28, 2022
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 4, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): June 4, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 5, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 5, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): September 8, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 28, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 26, 2026
• Last Verified: August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Elderly; Physical function; Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS); Agility training; Cognition function
• Other Study ID Numbers: 202205012RINC

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No