RESEARCH
IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
( AND FUNCTION…)
As we age we experience a decline in balance and functional task performance.
Can participation in mind body classes positively affect these changes?
Research paper: Twelve weeks of
BODYBALANCE™ training improved
balance and functional task performance
in middle-aged and older adults
Research team: Vaughan P. Nicholson,
Mark R. McKean, Brendan Burkett
Published: Clinical Interventions
in Aging, Volume 2014:9
Read more: dovepress.com/
articles.php?article_id=19058
Introduction: Age-related changes in
balance and functional task performance are
well-established and evident from the fourth
and fifth decades of life in men and women.
Deficits in balance are associated with falls,
difficulties with activities of daily living and
poor survival in older adults. Fortunately,
appropriate exercise can improve balance
performance and contribute to improved
mobility, independence and a reduction in
the risk of falling.
Interventions utilising traditional or
holistic exercises such as Tai Chi, Pilates
and yoga have all been found to improve
balance in older adults. BODYBALANCETM
is one fitness facility-based activity that
has the potential to promote improvements
in balance, as it comprises elements of
these three disciplines.
The primary aim of this study was
to determine whether 12 weeks of
BODYBALANCE TM classes would improve
balance and functional task performance in
healthy, active adults aged over 55 years.
Secondary aims were to determine the
effect of BODYBALANCE TM training on
fear of falling and self-reported quality of
life. It was hypothesised that 12 weeks of
BODYBALANCE TM training would improve
measures of balance and functional task
performance without having an effect on
fear of falling or self-reported quality of life.
Methods: Men and women aged
between 55 and 75 years who had not
participated in formal resistance or
balance training in the previous six months,
were invited to participate in the study.
All participants were physically active,
taking part in regular exercise such as
walking, cycling and swimming. Exclusion
criteria included: acute or terminal illness,
myocardial infarction in the past six months,
recent low impact fracture, or any condition
that would interfere with moderate intensity
exercise participation. Participants were
allocated to either the intervention (BB)
group in which they undertook two sessions
of BODYBALANCE™ per week for 12 weeks
(n = 15) or the control (CON) group, in which
they continued with their normal activities
but did not take part in any class (n = 13).
All BODYBALANCETM classes were
instructed by experienced group fitness
instructors who were not associated with
testing or recruitment of participants. The
focus of the first two weeks of the intervention
was for each participant to appropriately learn
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