Agility Training for Older Adults to Improve Fall Risk Factors

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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In this randomized controlled trial the effect of 4 months of multi-component (strength, balance, cognition, endurance) exercise training intervention on measures of neuromuscular performance, cognition, and endurance as well as neural adaptations on a central and peripheral level is investigated. 40 subjects are recruited that are generally health and between 60 and 80 years of age. The interventions is based around exercises, where different tasks have to be solved simultaneously rather than serially, as has previously been done.

Official Title
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Agility Training for Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Age-Related Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass, Aging, Sarcopenia, Cognitive Decline

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Agility training
* Behavioral: Exercise recommendations
* Behavioral: Exercise diary


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: willing to be randomized to either arm ability to travel to the sports facility twice a week understanding the german language Exclusion Criteria: smoking, obesity history of cardiovascular, pulmonary or chronic inflammatory disease vision impairments orthopaedic problems preventing them from participating in an exercise program history of osteoporosis or recent low trauma fracture less than two weeks during the intervention period not have taken part in a structured exercise program more than once a week in the past three months

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 60 Years
Maximum Age: 80 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: Randomized controlled trial with an intervention and a control arm.
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Agility Training<br>16 weeks, two times per week, 1 hour of multi-component exercise training, exercise guidelines and exercise diary. | Behavioral: Agility training<br>* Multi-component (strength, balance, cognition) exercise training.<br>Behavioral: Exercise recommendations<br>* Participants are being given the standard recommendations how much exercise and what type older adults should do.<br>Behavioral: Exercise diary<br>* Participants are instructed to write down their physical activity and exercises.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control<br>Exercise guidelines and exercise diary. | Behavioral: Exercise recommendations<br>* Participants are being given the standard recommendations how much exercise and what type older adults should do.<br>Behavioral: Exercise diary<br>* Participants are instructed to write down their physical activity and exercises.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Isometric knee-extension strength | Strength in torque (N*m) of the quadriceps femoris muscle. Measured on an isokinetic device in an isometric condition. | 16 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Isometric knee-flexion strength | Strength in torque (N*m) of the hamstring muscle group measured on an isokinetic device in an isometric condition. | 16 weeks | 
| Cognitive Processing Speed | Eriksen flanker task performance measured be reaction speed in milliseconds and accuracy in percentage. | 16 weeks | 
| Cognitive Impulsiveness | Go / No-Go task performance measured by reaction speed in milliseconds and accuracy in percentage. | 16 weeks | 
| Balance Performance | Staying as stable as possible during ten seconds in tandem stance eyes open condition. Center of pressure sway path length in mm and average sway speed in m/s is calculated. | 16 weeks | 
| Hand Grip Strength | Using a handheld dynamometer with an extended arm squeezing as hard as possible. Measured in N. | 16 weeks | 
| Counter movement jump power | Measured on a force plate participants are instructed to jump as high as possible with their hands akimbo. Peak of the time-power curve in Watts. | 16 weeks | 
| Blood Pressure | Blood pressure cuff on the right arm at the height of the aorta. Measured in mmHG. | 16 weeks | 
| Pulse Wave Velocity | Estimated from a mobile blood pressure cuff (mobil-O-graph) on the right arm. Measured in m/s. | 16 weeks | 
| Retinal vessel diameter | A photo is made from the retinal vessels with a static vessel analyzer (camera)through the eye and the vessel diameters are measured in mikrometers. | 16 weeks | 
| Quality of Life Questionnaire | 26 item questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 5. Aggregate Score from 0 to 100. | 16 weeks | 
| Fall Efficacy | 16 item qestionnaire (Fall Efficacy Scale). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 4. | 16 weeks | 
| Sleep Disturbances | 7 item questionnaire (Insomnia Severity Index). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 5. | 16 weeks | 
| Stress | 10 item qestionnaire (Perceived Stress Scale). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 5. | 16 weeks | 
| Depression | 15 item questionnaire (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 4. | 16 weeks |