THERAPY-Magazin
Risk of falling in seniors – What effect do multimodal training programmes have?
A study reveals how psychomotor and vibration training improve mobility, reaction time, and dual-task performance in seniors at risk of falling — but are the effects sustainable?
Jakob Tiebel
Business Owner, N+ Digital Health Agency
In keeping with the focus of this issue, we’re going to explore an exciting study by Rosado et al. from last year. The Portuguese research team investigated the effects of two multimodal exercise programmes on reaction time, mobility and dual-task performance in seniors at risk of falls in a randomised controlled trial.
For this purpose, 51 study subjects were divided into two experimental groups (units: three times a week for 24 weeks) and a control group. Group 1 carried out a psychomotor intervention, group 2 a combined programme (psychomotor intervention plus whole body vibration). The control group maintained their usual daily activities.
The study participants were evaluated before the start of the study, after the intervention and after a further twelve weeks for follow-up. The comparisons showed significant improvements in mobility and dual-task performance after the intervention in group 1, while there were improvements in reaction time, mobility and dual-task performance in group 2. The magnitude of the clinical effect was average (group 1) to significant (group 2). The comparisons also showed a reduction in the rate of falls in both groups. However, the effects of the interventions on reaction time, mobility and dual-task performance were no longer detectable after the 12-week follow-up period without intervention.
The results suggest that multimodal psychomotor programmes in older adults at risk of falling contribute to fall prevention as well as to the prevention of cognitive and physical functional decline. However, the interruption of the programmes apparently leads to a rapid reversal of the effects.
For this purpose, 51 study subjects were divided into two experimental groups (units: three times a week for 24 weeks) and a control group. Group 1 carried out a psychomotor intervention, group 2 a combined programme (psychomotor intervention plus whole body vibration). The control group maintained their usual daily activities.
The study participants were evaluated before the start of the study, after the intervention and after a further twelve weeks for follow-up. The comparisons showed significant improvements in mobility and dual-task performance after the intervention in group 1, while there were improvements in reaction time, mobility and dual-task performance in group 2. The magnitude of the clinical effect was average (group 1) to significant (group 2). The comparisons also showed a reduction in the rate of falls in both groups. However, the effects of the interventions on reaction time, mobility and dual-task performance were no longer detectable after the 12-week follow-up period without intervention.
The results suggest that multimodal psychomotor programmes in older adults at risk of falling contribute to fall prevention as well as to the prevention of cognitive and physical functional decline. However, the interruption of the programmes apparently leads to a rapid reversal of the effects.
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Jakob Tiebel
Business Owner, N+ Digital Health Agency
Jakob Tiebel studied applied psychology with a focus on health economics. He has clinical expertise from his previous therapeutic work in neurorehabilitation. He conducts research and publishes on the theory-practice transfer in neurorehabilitation and is the owner of Native.Health, an agency for digital health marketing.
References:
- Rosado H, Bravo J, Raimundo A, Carvalho J, Marmeleira J, Pereira C. Effects of two 24-week multimodal exercise programs on reaction time, mobility, and dual-task performance in community-dwelling older adults at risk of falling: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Public Health. 2021 Nov 10;21(Suppl 2):408. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-10448-x. PMID: 34758759; PMCID: PMC8582089.
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