Abstract
BackgroundThe European population is rapidly ageing. There is an urgent need for innovative solutions to reduce fall risk in older adults. Perturbation-based gait training is a promising new method to improve reactive balance responses. Whereas positive effects on task-specific dynamic balance recovery during gait have been shown in clinical or laboratory settings, translation of these effects to daily life gait function and fall risk is limited. We aim to evaluate the effect of a 4-week perturbation-based treadmill training on daily-life dynamic gait stability, assessed with inertial sensor data. Secondary outcomes are balance recovery performance, clinical balance and gait assessment scores, the amount of physical activity in daily life and falls incidence during 6 months follow-up.MethodsThe study is a monocenter assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial. The target study sample consists of 70 older adults of 65 years and older, living in the community and with an elevated risk of falling. A block-randomization to avoid seasonal effects will be used to allocate the participants into two groups. The experimental group receives a 4-week, two times per week perturbation-based gait training programme on a treadmill, with simulated slips and trips, in combination with cognitive dual tasks. The control group receives a 4-week, two times per week treadmill training programme under cognitive dual-task conditions without perturbations. Participants will be assessed at baseline and after the 4-weeks intervention period on their daily-life gait stability by wearing an inertial sensor on the lower back for seven consecutive days. In addition, clinical balance and gait assessments as well as questionnaires on falls- and gait-efficacy will be taken. Daily life falls will be followed up over 6 months by a fall calendar.DiscussionWhereas perturbation-based training has shown positive effects in improving balance recovery strategies and in reducing laboratory falls, this study will contribute to investigate the translation of perturbation-based treadmill training effects in a clinical setting towards improving daily life gait stability and reducing fall risk and falls.Trial registrationNTR7703 / NL66322.028.18, Registered: January 8, 2019; Enrolment of the first participant April 8, 2019.
Highlights
Besides the risk of injuries and associated reductions in quality of life, an injurious fall may increase fear of falling [1], leading to a reduction in physical activity in daily life, which in turn could result in waning muscle strength and a further increased risk of falls [7]
A 29% reduction in fall risk is the pooled estimate based on a review by Gillespie and co-workers [9]
The participant is not informed on the recovery performance during the training
Summary
We aim to evaluate the effect of a 4-week perturbation-based treadmill training on daily-life dynamic gait stability, assessed with inertial sensor data. Secondary outcomes are balance recovery performance, clinical balance and gait assessment scores, the amount of physical activity in daily life and falls incidence during 6 months follow-up. Falls are the leading cause of injuries in the growing population of older adults [1, 2]. One in three older adults aged over 65 years falls and this rate increases rapidly with age, leading to half of the people aged over 80 experiencing at least one fall per year [2, 4, 5]. In 2018, 108.000 older adults (65+) in the Netherlands suffered a severe injury associated with a fall and were treated in emergency departments or were admitted to hospitals [6]. Besides the risk of injuries and associated reductions in quality of life, an injurious fall may increase fear of falling [1], leading to a reduction in physical activity in daily life, which in turn could result in waning muscle strength and a further increased risk of falls [7]
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