Efficacy of Balance and Mobility Exercises on Gait Speed and Energy Expenditure in Ageing Adults: A Quasi- Experimental Interventional Clinical Trial
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Design: A quasi-experimental interventional clinical trial, using pretest-posttest design to test the effect of the intervention on gait-speed and energy expenditure.
Participants: 35 subjects (14 male and 21 female) were recruited using Convenience sampling from a day care centre. The mean age of subjects was 70.03 (S.D=4.71) years; range 65 to 87 years.
Intervention: Subjects participated in a program of structured balance and mobility exercises, sixty minutes per day, five days a week, for six weeks. This was a group based program supervised by a physiotherapist.
Main outcome measures: Gait speed (in meters per minute) and Physiological Cost Index (in beats per meter) during walking on 20 meter walkway.
Results: When the subjects were compared for improvement in gait speed between pre-exercise (46.79±09.96) to post-exercise (51.09±11.16) and Physiological Cost Index (PCI) between pre-exercise (0.36±0.10) to post-exercise (0.27±0.09), a significant difference obtained (p=.001).
Conclusion: The balance and mobility exercise intervention resulted in a significant improvement in gait-speed and reduction in the energy expenditure during walking in healthy ageing adults.
Keywords
- Krishnaswamy B and Usha G. Falls in older people (National/regional review; India). [Online]. 2007; Available from: URL:www.who.int/entity/ageing/projects/ SEARO.pdf
- Chandana H.B. and Talwar P.P. Aging in India: Its Socioeconomic and Health Implications. Asia- Pacific Population Journal, Vol. 2, No. 3, 23-38
- Helbostad JL and Nilssen RM. The effect of gait speed on lateral balance control during walking in healthy elderly. Gait and Posture 2003;18:27- 36.
- Richards CL, Olney SJ. Hemiparetic gait following stroke. Part II: Recovery and physical therapy. Gait Posture. 1996:149-162.
- Steffen TM, Hacker TA, Mollinger L. Age- and gender-related test performance in communitydwelling elderly people: Six- Minute Walk Test, Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up & Go Test, and gait speeds. Phys Ther. 2002;82:128-137.
- Van Iersel MB, Munneke M, Esselink RA, Benraad CE, Olde Rikkert MG. Gait velocity and the Timed-Up-and- Go test were sensitive to changes in mobility in frail elderly patients. J Clin Epidemiol. 2008;61:186-191.
- Harada N, Chiu V, Damron-Rodriguez J, Fowler E, Siu A, Reuben DB. Screening for balance and mobility impairment in elderly individuals living in residential care facilities. Phys Ther. 1995;75:462-469.
- Perry J, Garrett M, Gronley JK, Mulroy SJ. Classification of walking handicap in the stroke population. Stroke. 1995;26:982-989.
- Mangione KK, Craik RL, Lopopolo R, Tomlinson JD, Brenneman S. Predictors of gait speed in patients after hip fracture. Physiother Can. 2007;59:10-18.
- Studenski S, Perera S, Wallace D, et al. Physical performance measures in the clinical setting. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003;51:314-322.
- Purser JL, Weinberger M, Cohen HJ, et al. Walking speed predicts health status and hospital costs for frail elderly male veterans. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2005;42:535-546.
- Brach JS, VanSwearingen JM, Newman AB, Kriska AM. Identifying early decline of physical function in community- dwelling older women: performance-based and selfreport measures. Phys Ther. 2002;82:320-328.
- Montero-Odasso M, Schapira M, Soriano ER, Varela M, Kaplan R, Camera LA, Mayorga LM. Gait velocity as a single predictor of adverse events in healthy seniors aged 75 years and older. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2005;60:1304-1309.
- Rabadi MH, Blau A. Admission ambulation velocity predicts length of stay and discharge disposition following stroke in an acute rehabilitation hospital. Neurorehabil Neural Repair. 2005;19:20-26.
- Salbach NM, Mayo NE, Higgins J, Ahmed S, Finch LE, Richards CL. Responsiveness and predictability of gait speed and other disability measures in acute stroke. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2001;82:1204-1212.
- Hardy SE, Perera S, Roumani YF, Chandler JM, Studenski SA. Improvement in usual gait speed predicts better survival in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55:1727-1734.
- Goldie PA, Matyas TA, Evans OM. Deficit and change in gait velocity during rehabilitation after stroke. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1996;77: 1074-1082.
- Guimaraes RM, Isaacs B. Characteristics of the gait in old people who fall. Int Rehabil Med. 1980;2:177-180.
- Maki BE. Gait changes in older adults: predictors of falls or indicators of fear. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1997;45:313-320.
- MacGregor J. The evaluation of patient performance using long-term ambulatory monitoring technique in the domiciliary environment. Physiotherapy, 67. 1981:30-33.
- Jaiyesimi AO, Fashakin OG. Reliability of physiological cost index measurements. Afr J Med Med Sci. 2007 Sep;36(3):229-34.
- Jette AM, Lachman M, Giorgetti MM, et al. Exercise—it’s never too late: the strong-for-life program. Am J Public Health. 1999;89:66-72.
- Fiatarone MA. Fitness and function at the end of life. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995;43:1439-1440.
- Nene AV. (1993). Physiological cost index of walking in able-bodied adolescents and adults. Clinical Rehabilitation, 7, 319-326.
- Means KM, Rodell DE, Sullivan and Patricia S. Balance, Mobility, and Falls Among Community- Dwelling Elderly Persons: Effects of a Rehabilitation Exercise Program. American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation; 2005: 84(4):238-50.
- Thomas KJ, Pilon M, Hendrix K. Improvements in walking speed experienced by elders participating in a cardiovascular exercise program. J Geriatr Phys Ther. 2006;29(3):87-91.
- Rinsberg K, Gerdhem P, Johansson J and Obrant KJ. Is there a relationship between balance, gait performance and muscular strength in 75-yearold women? Age and Ageing 1999;28:289–93.
- Laufer Y. Effect of Age on Characteristics of Forward and Backward Gait at Preferred and Accelerated Walking Speed. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2005;60:627-32.
- Graham RC, Smith NM and White CM. The Reliability and Validity of the Physiological Cost Index in Healthy Subjects While Walking on 2 Different Tracks. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2005;86:2041-46.
- Melatesta D, Simar D, Dauvilliers Y, Candau R, Borrani F, Prefaut C, and Caillaud C. Energy cost of walking and gait instability in healthy 65- and 80-yr-olds. J Appl Physiol 2003;95:2248–56.
- Waters RL and Mulroy S. The energy expenditure of normal and pathologic gait. Gait and Posture 1999;9:207–31.
Abstract Views: 452
PDF Views: 0