Article

The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency of three different
balance training strategies in an effort to understand the mechanisms underlying
training-related changes in dual-task balance performance of older adults with
balance impairment. Elderly individuals with balance impairment, age 65 and
older, were randomly assigned to one of three individualized training programs:
single-task (ST) balance training; dual-task training with fixed-priority (FP)
instruction; and dual-task training with variable-priority (VP) instruction.
Balance control during gait, under practiced and novel conditions, was assessed
by calculating the center of mass and ankle joint center inclination angles in
the frontal plane. A smaller angle indicated better balance performance. Other
outcomes included gait velocity, stride length, verbal reaction time, and rate of
response. All measures were collected at baseline and the end of the 4-week
training. Results indicated that all training strategies were equally effective
(P>.05) at improving balance performance (smaller inclination angle) under
single-task contexts. However, the VP training strategy was more effective
(P=.04) in improving both balance and cognitive performance under dual-task
conditions than either the ST or the FP training strategies. Improved dual-task
processing skills did not transfer to a novel dual-task condition. Results
support Kramer et al.'s proposal that VP training improves both single-task
automatization and the development of task-coordination skills.

Langue : ANGLAIS