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 Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
57
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.
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.
National Taiwan University
Taipei, Taiwan
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.
Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
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.
Time frame: 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).
Time frame: 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.
Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks
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