TAI CHI INCREASED BODY STABILITY AMONG THE ELDERLY UNDER THE DUAL TASK CONDITION DURING STAIR ASCENT

Our work aimed to find out whether Tai Chi (TC) exercise could improve body stability among the elderly under a physical-cognitive dual task (DT) condition during stair ascent. 15 elderly persons who regularly exercised TC and 15 no exercise (NE) participants were asked to walk ascending stairs under single task (ST) and DT conditions in this study. The results showed the TC group had a lower lateral impulse and center of mass-center of pressure (COM-COP) ap/ml separation under the DT condition; Compared with the ST condition, the TC group increased foot clearance, the NE group increased their lateral impulse and COM-COP ml separation under the DT condition. Under DT, body stability decreased among the NE group, but the TC group had better body stability during stair ascent under both ST and DT conditions

EFFFECTS OF SIMPLIFIED TAICHI ON THE BALANCE ABILITY OF THE ELDERLY

Purpose: This study explores whether simplified Tai Chi can improve the balance ability of the elderly and provides a theoretical basis for studying fall prevention among the elderly. Methods: A three-dimensional force plate was used to test the balance of 30 healthy elderly. Balance ability was tested by using four postures, namely, standing with both eyes open,standing with both eyes closed,standing with one eye open, and standing with one eyeclosed.Results: The DO RMS-AP, DO RMS-ML, SC COP-ML, and SOT indexes of the Tai hi group were significantly higher than those of the control group. Conclusion: Simplified Tai Chi can improve the balance ability of the elderly. If one wants to improve his/her posture control ability when standing with one eye closed, then s/he needs to practice tai chi for an extended period

Stretch Improves Pain and Descent Mechanics

This study aims to examine the effects of a12-week Proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) intervention on pain relief, passive and active joint ROM, external knee adduction moment (KAM) and hip adduction moment (HAM) in the elderly with Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) during stair descent. Seventy-six elderly who were diagnosed with KOA were recruited and randomly divided into two groups: the twelve-week PNF intervention group and the control group. Pain score was measured by the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). KAM, and HAM during stair descent were measured using a motion analysis system with a force platform. All the data were recorded at weeks 0, 6, and 12. Compared to the control group, the PNF group showed a decreased pain score, increased HAM during stair descent. PNF intervention is a successful method to relieve symptoms of KOA. It relieves pain without increasing KAM, enhances passive ROM, increases active knee flexion ROM, and increases HAM during stair descent in the elderly with KOA

COULD TAI CHI EXERCISE IMPOVE STABILITY IN ELDERLY? STRATEGIES OF STEPPING OVER OBSTACLES

Stepping over obstacles challenges stability and is a leading cause of falls in older adult populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the obstacle-crossing strategies of long-term Tai Chi (TC) practitioners and exercise walkers. Thirty healthy older women (average age: 65.7 years) with either TC (n=15) experience (average experience: 8.2 years) or walking exercise (n=15; average experience: 8.8 years) participated in this study. We used three trial conditions: 1) normal walking, 2) crossing a 15cm (20% of leg length) obstacle, and 3) crossing a 23cm (30% of leg length) to assess obstacle-crossing strategy. Results showed Individuals with a TC background crossed the obstacle significantly faster with a significantly longer step relative to the exercise walkers; plantar pressure profiles between the two groups also differed. Our results suggest that obstacle-crossing strategies were affected by the type of long-term exercise

CORRELATIONS OF POSTURAL CONTROL TO PROPRIOCEPTION, TACTILE SENSATION AND MUSCLE STRENGTH AMONG OLDER ADULTS

Background: Falls are one of the most important causes of physical injury and death in older adults. Postural control is associated with an elevated risk of falls in older adults. the purpose of this study was to assess the correlation between static/dynamic postural control ability and proprioception, plantar skin touch, and muscle strength in older adults. Method: Partial correlation analysis was used to quantitatively analyze the correlation between plantar tactile sensitivity, proprioception, lower limb muscle strength and postural control, and regression analysis was used to build an effective model of human postural control. Result: The postural control of the older adults is related to the plantar tactile sensitivity, proprioception, and lower limb muscle strength. Conclusion: dynamic postural control mainly affected by lower limb muscle strength and proprioception, suggesting that trainings to improve the ankle plantarflexion, hip abduction muscle strength and knee and ankle proprioception should be recommended to older adults to improve dynamic postural control. Static postural control mainly affected by planter tactile sensitivity and proprioception suggesting that trainings to improve the proprioception and planter tactile sensitivity should be recommended to older adults to improve static postural control

THE EFFECT OF ARCH-SUPPORTED FUNCTIONAL INSOLES TO AVOID OVERUSED INJURIES DURING RACE WALKING

This study investigates the effectiveness of functional insoles on plantar pressure distribution during race walking in order to reduce the high plantar pressure and force on race walkers, who tend to suffer from overuse injury. A total of 20 male race walkers were recruited as subjects. Each participant completed a race walk with and without functional insoles. Plantar pressure insoles were used to collect plantar pressure data. A two-way analysis of variance with a mixed design was used to determine the difference between the two conditions. Results show that the use of functional insoles reduced the peak pressure and the impulse in the metatarsal heads and heels and thus suggest that functional insoles reduce the overuse injury risks of these parts. The first ground reaction force peak also decreased. This result suggests that functional insoles reduce the risks of foot and leg injuries

EFFECTS OF EXERCISE ON ANKLE PROPRIOCEPTION DURING SIXTEEN WEEKS OF TRAINING AND EIGHT WEEKS OF DETRAINING IN OLDER ADULTS

This study evaluates the ankle proprioception in older adults. Sixty women (age 62.1±4.3yr) were randomly assigned to three groups to undergo a 16-week training (one group practice Tai Chi,one group practice brisk walking and one group reading) and 8-week detraining program. Proprioception of ankle plantarflexion (PF), dorsiflexion (DF) were measured, better proprioception is defined as being able to detect a smaller degree in joint angle. The results showed that degree PF and DF changes earlier and were smaller in TG than in BG in training; degree of PF and DF declined in all groups during the detraining, but TG exhibited a significant difference with pre-training data. So Tai Chi can more effectively improve and maintain ankle proprioception as well as prevent fall in old age. However, the extent of benefit depends on the regularity of training in older adults

EFFECT OF ILLUMINATION ON THE OBSTACLE-CROSSING BEHAVIORS OF ELDERLY WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to determine how illumination affect elderly women when stepping over obstacles. A motion capture system was used to collect the kinematics data of 15 elderly women. The results revealed that the obstacle-crossing behavior of elderly women were affected by the illumination. Compare to the high illumination condition, the elderly women decreased their toe distance and heel distance (

Effects of a Dual-Task Paradigm and Gait Velocity on Dynamic Gait Stability during Stair Descent

Falls during stair negotiation have become one of the leading causes of accidental death. The effects of a concurrent cognitive or manual dual-task paradigm on dynamic gait stability remain uncertain. How much dynamic gait stability is influenced by gait velocity is also not clear. A total of 16 healthy young females descended a staircase under three different walking conditions: descend stairs only (single task), descend stairs while performing subtraction (cognitive dual-task), and descend stairs while carrying a glass of water (manual dual-task). An eight-camera Vicon motion analysis system and a Kistler force plate embedded into the third step of the staircase were used synchronously to collect kinematic and kinetic data. Gait velocity decreased and dynamic gait stability increased with both cognitive and manual dual-task conditions. The center of mass–center of pressure inclination angle increased with gait velocity but decreased with the manual dual-task condition compared to the single-task condition. Changes in gait velocity caused by the dual-task paradigm can partially explain the effects of dual-task dynamic gait stability. The influence of gait velocity should be considered in the assessment of dual-task effects

THE POTENTIAL INJURY RISK OF BACKPACK WEIGHT ON POSTURE AND GROUND REACTION FORCES OF OBESE CHILDREN DURING STAIR DESCENT

This study investigated the effects of backpack weight on posture, gait pattern, and ground reaction forces for children with obesity in an attempt to define a safe backpack weight limit for them. A total of 16 obese (11.19±0.66 years of age) and 21 normal body weight (11.13±0.69 years of age) school boys were recruited. Two force plates and two video cameras were used. Multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures was employed. Obese children showed increased trunk and head forward inclination angle, increased ground reaction force in the medial-lateral and anterior-posterior directions when compared to male children with a normal body weight. The changes were observed even with an empty backpack in comparison with normal body weight children and a 15% increase in backpack weight led to further instability and damage on their already strained bodies