Elderly may benefit from balance training

By Will Boggs, MDTue Jun 19, 3:36 PM ET
With a special training program, elderly people can learn better balance control, which may lessen their risk of falling, according to a new report.
Doctors might be hesitant to recommend balance-training exercises "that can be very challenging for their older clients," Dr. Brian E. Maki told Reuters Health. However, "provided proper safety measures are taken (such as wearing a safety harness), older adults are often willing and able to complete exercises that challenge their balance, such as the perturbation-based program described in our paper."
The perturbation-based balance training program developed by Maki at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and colleagues helps the elderly learn how to restore balance or respond by grasping a support when their center of gravity or their stance is displaced.
The perturbations used in the training program are unpredictable and challenge balance control in multiple directions, the researchers explain in their report in BMC Geriatrics.
Maki said it's important to understand that "simple exercise prescriptions (e.g., walking) may have many health benefits, but will not necessarily improve critical aspects of balance control."
The investigators tested their approach in a pilot study that included eight older adults who were referred to a clinical falls-prevention program, due to problems with instability, falling and/or fear of falling. The participants were assigned to a perturbation-based balance program or a simpler training protocol.
"We found that our pilot subjects were equally willing to tolerate the perturbation training and, in fact, were more likely to feel that the perturbation training was beneficial, compared to the less challenging training," Maki said.
As well as preventing falls, Maki said, balance training should improve the confidence of elderly patients "and they will be more likely to maintain healthy levels of physical activity, which in turn will help to enhance their balance control."
While the strategy looks promising, it remains to be shown seen "whether the improvements in balance-recovery reactions that result from the training actually do lead to reduced risk of falling," Maki concluded.
SOURCE: BMC Geriatrics, online May 31, 2007.