Effects of a Drums Alive® Intervention versus Hand-Foot Coordination Training on Motor, Cognitive and Motivational Parameters in Seniors

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare the effects of two different interventions on the physiological, cognitive, and motivational parameters in seniors; and, how they would be accepted as alternative forms of exercise in the senior population. The facilitators recruited 26 randomly selected participants from two senior care facilities in Chemnitz, Germany who were required to complete two 45-minute exercise periods a week for 30 days. The first group completed the Drums Alive intervention which included a multi-dimensional approach using music, movement, drumming choreographies, games, and activities. The second intervention group completed a series of Hand-Foot Coordination exercises that used beat-keeping patterns on various parts of the body. Each intervention group had three divisions of participants, i.e. “healthy” to define those with no diagnosed malady, “dementia” for those with varying degrees of diagnosed dementia, and, “wheelchair” and those requiring a wheelchair for movement. The pre- and post-testing measurements consisted of age, heart rate, blood pressure, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), bar-drop test, chair-raise test, 6-minute walk test, memory, concentration, balance, reaction, coordination, and cognitive flexibility. In addition, to measure the level of motivation, i.e. fun, the participants used a tool that was developed by the Psychology Department of the Chemnitz University. The results demonstrated that both interventions were suitable alternates for senior-focused conventional sports offerings, however, the Drums Alive intervention outperformed the Hand-Foot Coordination intervention in a majority of the measured domains by an overall average of 9.45 percent. Of note, the data, vis a vis motivation, demonstrated a 38.4 percent increase for Drums Alive vice a 13.3 percent increase for Hand-Foot Coordination, suggesting the Drums Alive intervention offered more effective protocols that could inspire seniors to make this a part of an overall health and wellness plan to improve their quality of life.