Balance Control in Elderly

The goal of this clinical trial is to is to test whether Walkasins can help people with peripheral neuropathy maintain their balance better. The main question it aims to answer is whether participants who use Walkasins on an everyday basis over a six-month period will report better awareness of their foot placement on the ground. Researchers will compare Walkasins users to a control group of participants who are not using Walkasins to see if the device improves the users' performance on some standing and walking tests. Control group participants will get Walkasins after six months of being in the study. During the study participants will be asked to do the following: * Answer questions about their medical history and balance. * Do some standing and walking tests. Some of the tests will be timed. * Attend study visits and participate in study phone calls. * Keep track of any falls and notify study staff if they fall. * Wear the Walkasins device on a regular basis.

This study is an assessor-blinded randomised controlled trial investigating the effects of combined Lifestyle-integrated Functional Exercise and Self-initiated Perturbation-based Balance Training (LiFE-SePBT) on postural stability in community-dwelling older adults with an elevated risk of falling.

Falls among older adults are a major public health issue, accounting for approximately 2 million incidents annually in France, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths and 130,000 hospitalizations. Their cost is estimated at nearly 2 billion euros per year and is expected to rise as the population ages. Falls result from multiple factors, including biological, behavioral, and environmental factors, with balance and gait disorders playing a central role. Their consequences include loss of independence, restricted activity, and fear of falling. The ability to get back up from the ground after a fall is still largely overlooked. Yet up to two-thirds of older adults who have fallen are unable to get up on their own, exposing them to serious complications and an increased risk of further falls. This skill remains under-assessed and under-trained. Physical activity-particularly programs combining balance, muscle strengthening, and functional training-can reduce the risk of falling by approximately 20 to 30 percent. Balance workshops are widely used for this purpose. However, these interventions primarily focus on fall prevention and rarely address fall management, particularly the ability to get up from the floor. Specific interventions targeting this skill are still underdeveloped, with mixed results. The integration of structured training in getting up from the floor into balance workshops

This study focuses on improving balance control and somatosensory functions in individuals aged 60 years and older with diabetes mellitus tyoe 2 (DMT2). Older adults with DMT2 are at an increased risk of balance problems due to diabetic complications such as neuropathy, retinopathy, and possibly reduced vestibular function. The aim of the study is to investigate whether a 12-week exercise program, with or without additional balance exercises, can improve balance control, enhance somatosensory functions (such as touch and vibration thresholds), and positively impact diabetes-related parameters, including HbA1c levels. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Participants are selected based on reduced balance control identified in a prior cross-sectional study. The intervention group follows an exercise program in accordance with international guidelines, supplemented with balance exercises supervised by the researcher (physiotherapist). The control group follows the same guidelines but without balance exercises; instead, they perform relaxation exercises. Balance control is assessed both statically and dynamically, while somatosensory functions are measured, and diabetes-related parameters are collected. The intervention is primarily home-based, supported by an activity tracker, but the balance or relaxation exercises are conducted under supervision at a designated location. This study aims to contribute to the quality of life of older adults with DMT2 by reducing balance problems and fall risks.

The goal of this interventional clinical trial is to investigate the effects of breathing exercises added to balance training on cognitive function in individuals aged 65 years and older. The main questions it aims to answer are: Do breathing exercises affect cognition? Do different breathing exercises affect cognition in different ways? Researchers will administer two different breathing protocols and evaluate cognition before and after each protocol. Participants will take part in an 8-week program consisting of sessions that include 30 minutes of balance-based exercises and 15 minutes of breathing exercises. Sessions will be held twice weekly under the supervision of a physical therapist.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of dual-task exercises-which simultaneously target cognitive and motor functions-delivered via telerehabilitation on fall risk, balance, cognitive functions, and sleep quality in geriatric individuals.Aging is often associated with balance disorders, increased fall risk, cognitive decline, and impaired sleep quality, all of which significantly impact the quality of life in the elderly. Dual-task interventions require individuals to perform physical and cognitive tasks concurrently, aiming to improve sensorimotor control and enhance balance strategies under cognitive load.This study utilizes telerehabilitation as a cost-effective and sustainable solution to facilitate access to healthcare services, providing a remote alternative to face-to-face rehabilitation. The research aims to demonstrate that dual-task exercises performed through telerehabilitation can contribute to functional recovery, reduce the fear of falling, and increase the safe mobility capacity of geriatric individuals.

Aging leads to substantial alterations in the nervous and skeletal muscle systems that ultimately lead to a reduction in "neural drive" and motor performance. While maximal strength starts declining as early as 50 years of age, aging brings even greater reductions in rate of force development and muscle power, that has been shown to be a stronger predictor of functional independence and balance impairments. Falls are a major health concern as one third of adults over 65 years loses balance and falls every year, and based on a published report, the estimated health care costs associated with falls in the European Union is €25 billion. The ability to recover balance declines with aging, where older individuals often recover balance with a greater number of balance recovery steps and non-optimal stepping strategies. In addition, older adults have more difficulty recovering balance in the medio-lateral direction. The hip abductors are fundamental in controlling the motion of the body centre of mass in this direction during weight transfers of standing, stepping, and walking. Furthermore, these muscles appear to be more susceptible to age-related composition and performance declines than other muscles of the lower limbs, especially in individuals at a higher risk for falls. Unfortunately, common balance interventions, such as, functional balance training, Tai-Chi, or dance, have a very limited capacity to reduce the risk of falls in older adults. Interestingly, resistance training is relatively better than the mentioned interventions at reducing this problem. This may come about through mitigating the agerelated neuromuscular performance deficits. However, traditional resistance training lacks the emphasis in high velocity movements required for adequate fall prevention protective stepping strategies. Muscle power training is a safe and effective alternative to traditional resistance training. By emphasizing in maximum speed of execution, its results are often better than with traditional resistance training, especially in functional outcomes, with the potential to enhance balance recovery. However, there is little and inconsistent evidence on the optimal exercise parameters (such as velocity) for prevention of falls. Community-based multi-component exercise programs are often used to promote health and functional benefits in the older adult population. These programs not only have a positive impact in a larger number of communitydwelling individuals, but can also lead to significant improvements. Nonetheless, these programs limited in reducing the risk for falls. Considering the robust effects of muscle power training in the older population, it is conceivable that a multi-component community-based exercise intervention, that focuses on developing muscle power and reduce fall risk, can improve the older individuals' ability to recover balance and consequently, bring greater benefits to the older adult community. However, there is no information on the feasibility of conducting an exercise program to develop muscle power and reduce fall risk in a community-based setting. Furthermore, it is generally unknown if such an exercise intervention can improve function, balance, and reduce the occurrence of falls in older adults especially, among those that have fallen in the past- which are the most relevant target population for both clinical studies and practice.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and Reliability of Berg Balance Scale in Albanian population