Only a few studies have adopted external focus strategy as an intervention to mitigate the negative effects of heightened conscious movement processing in older adults. The goal was to investigate whether a single-session intervention (SSI) using external focus strategy could improve gait stability and visual search behaviors during adaptive locomotion among the older population. Participants were randomly allocated to either an external focus (EXT) or a control group (CON). All participants performed an obstacle circumvention walking task along an 8-m walkway for five trials at pre-intervention (T0), post-intervention (T1), and retention (T2). The training phase included 20 walking trials. EXT focused on digits displayed on monitors at their path destinations, while CON walked naturally without any manipulation.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
112
The training phase consisted of 20 consecutive training trials, with a rest interval of at least 30 seconds between trials. All participants had to circumvent an obstacle during each trial on the 8-m level-ground walkway. During each trial, the general instruction was to focus on a random series of digits ranging from 0 to 9 displayed on monitors placed at the immediate and future destinations of the walkway. Each number was displayed for at least 2 seconds to allow participants to have sufficient time to read them.
The training phase consisted of 20 consecutive training trials, with a rest interval of at least 30 seconds between trials. All participants had to circumvent an obstacle during each trial on the 8-m level-ground walkway. During each trial, the general instruction was to walk to the end of the walkway at your natural pace.
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Gait stability
Measured by a 3-D motion-capture system. Indicated by the variabilities of temporal and spatial gait parameters
Time frame: pre-test, post-test (the same day, immediately after the single-session intervention), 1 week after post-test (retention)
Visual search behavior
Measured by eye tracker. Indicated by: number of fixation (%) on ground number of fixation (%) on destination number of fixation (%) on obstacle number of fixation (%) on random areas fixation duration (%) on ground fixation duration (%) on destination fixation duration (%) on obstacle fixation duration (%) on random areas
Time frame: pre-test, post-test (the same day, immediately after the single-session intervention), 1 week after post-test (retention)
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