Gait Training For Reducing Risk Of Fall in the Elderly

Umm Al-Qura University60 enrolled

Overview

Falling is considered one of the major problems that may affect the elderly, which may lead to bad consequences. Safe walking needs the older adult to anticipate and respond quickly to external demands and sudden environmental changes.Many studies have shown that treadmill training is effective in improving the elderly person's ability to walk and avoid falls. The C-Mill treadmill is an innovative device that recently used for the training of impaired gait and balance.Therefore, this study will aim to evaluate the efficacy of gait training with a virtual reality treadmill on the risk of fall in the elderly.

Fall injuries produce serious threats to elderly people. Fall hazards are many, they include physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences. Many studies have shown that walking and balance exercises effectively contribute to enhancing walking performance, improving obstacle avoidance, and reducing the incidence of falls in the elderly. Therefore, the practice of complex and challenging situations of the usual daily walking is very important to prevent falls. Many studies have shown that treadmill training is effective in improving the elderly person's ability to walk and avoid falls. The C-Mill treadmill is recently used for the training of impaired gait and balance. C-Mill applies a virtual reality environment, obstacle avoidance games, and a variety of balance challenges in a safe and controlled environment to increase walking adaptability and improve performance in everyday life.Fall injuries produce serious consequences. The management of these injuries is costly and has a negative impact on healthcare entities. Therefore, prevention programs for preventing and reducing falls among the elderly are very important for reducing these serious consequences. Therefore, this study will compare the efficacy of gait training with a virtual reality treadmill and the conventional physical therapy training program on the risk of fall in the elderly.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Conditions

Fall

Interventions

The C-Mill virtual reality treadmillDEVICE

The C-Mill treadmill is an innovative device used for the training of impaired gait and balance. The C-Mill is an instrumented treadmill with interactive virtual reality games and applications.The instrument is supplied with a safety frame, body weight support, treadmill force plates, treadmill belt, adjustable handrails, cameras, user operating system, interactive visual screen and augmented reality projection.

Conventional Physical Therapy ProgramOTHER

The Conventional Physical Therapy Program include the following: * Postural reactions exercises. (using balance board, balance beam, and manual balance perturbations) * Indoor open environment gait training exercises (over ground gait training exercises.). (using obstacles,cones , stepper, balance board , and uneven surfaces) (either between or outside the parallel bar)

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 60 YearsMax age: 70 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: 60 healthy older adults, both sexes, will participate in this study. Their ages will be between 60 to 70 years. They should have stable medical status based on a confirmed written medical report signed by their physicians. All participants should not receive other training to improve their balance and gait during the duration of the study application except through this study training program. Exclusion Criteria: The exclusion criteria will include any participant with: * a cognitive reduction (\< 23 points based on the Mini-Mental State Examination scale; * muscle paralysis, * ﬁxed lower limb bony deformities, * balance deficits, * visual problems, * diabetes mellitus, * polyneuropathy, * gait disorders, * using assistive walking devices during walking, * vertigo, anti-seizures drug use and hypertension, * vestibular and cerebellar problems; and * auditory and perceptual diseases/impairments

Locations (1)

Ehab Mohamed Abd El Kafy

Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Change in the score of fall risk test . (test that assess the change in risk of fall)

The Biodex Balance System was used to assess the Change in the Overall Stability Index of the Fall Risk Test. In this study, the dynamic level (11) will be selected for applying the fall risk test. The result for every child will be registered and compared to the normative data stored in the software of the device based on children age range.

Time frame: [Data will be collected at baseline, and 6 weeks after intervention commencement]

Change in the Overall Stability Index {percentage value (%)}, and Time of Control {seconds} for Limit of Stability Test (test that assess the change in balance ability)

The Biodex Balance System will be used to assess the change in the Overall Stability Index and the Time of Control of the Limit of Stability Test. This test involves measurement of overall directional control which represented as a percentage value (%). The higher scores will indicate better balance control. The test also include measurement of total time required to complete the test (seconds), improvement in this parameter requires minimizing the time recorded to complete the test.

Time frame: [Data will be collected at baseline, and 6 weeks after intervention commencement]

Secondary Outcomes

Change in the Timed Up and Go (TUG) (test that assess the probability for falls among elderly)

The Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) will be used to assess the following parameters in older adults: fall risk, walking ability, balance, and mobility. It is a reliable, valid and sensitive test that is a specific measure of the probability for falls among elderly.

Time frame: [Data will be collected at baseline, and 6 weeks after intervention commencement]

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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