Clinical trial NCT05107817: Aquatic Exercise and Reactive Balance
Official title: Catching and Throwing Exercises to Improve Reactive Balance: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol for the Comparison of Aquatic and Dry-land Training Environments
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Aging
Aged
Accidental Falls
Postural Balance
Exercise
Exercise Therapy
Keywords: Reactive balance
Aquatic exercise
Aquatic therapy
Fall prevention
Lead sponsor: Utah State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-11-04
Enrollment: 44
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 65
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: The present clinical trial aims to identify if skills acquired during aquatic exercise are more effectively transferred to a reactive balance task than land exercise. This study is designed as a double-blinded, randomized controlled clinical trial. Forty-four older adults aged 60 years or above who meet the eligibility criteria will be recruited and randomized into an aquatic exercise group or land exercise group. Each group will participate in the same balance training exercise during a single session that includes a ball throwing and catching task. A modified lean-and-release test will be implemented on land immediately before, after, and one week after the training session. The outcomes will include reaction time, rapid response accuracy, and mini-BESTest scores obtained from stepping and grasping reactions.

Detailed description: During the modified lean-and-release test, there are two possible settings: 1) the leg block is placed in front of both legs, and a safety handle is uncovered; or 2) the leg block is removed, and the safety handle is covered. The leg block and handle cover will be controlled via computer-triggered, servo motors. The testing session will be comprised of three blocks: 1) REACH (grasping a safety handle using their right hand while maintaining both feet fixed), 2) STEP (stepping forward using any leg), and 3) RANDOM (random variations of STEP and REACH).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Ability to stand using a double-leg stance for one minute of time
* Ability to walk independently
* Normal or corrected to normal vision
* Normal or corrected to normal hearing based on a qualitative assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

* Any neurological or musculoskeletal disorders that may inhibit the participation in the training and testing protocols
* A concussion within the past one year before the participation
* Any cognitive deficiencies (e.g., memory, concentration, or attention disorder)
* One or more 'yes' answered on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
* Fear of water

Primary outcomes:
measure: Reaction time measures (REACH)
timeFrame: Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (STEP1)
timeFrame: Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (STEP2)
timeFrame: Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Rapid response accuracy
timeFrame: Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test
timeFrame: Immediately before the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (REACH)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (STEP1)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (STEP2)
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Rapid response accuracy
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test
timeFrame: Immediately after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (REACH)
timeFrame: One week after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (STEP1)
timeFrame: One week after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Reaction time measures (STEP2)
timeFrame: One week after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Rapid response accuracy
timeFrame: One week after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
measure: Mini-Balance Evaluation Systems Test
timeFrame: One week after the intervention. Duration of each assessment will be 15 minutes.
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: Utah State University
name: Eadric Bressel
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Bolton DAE, Mansour M. A Modified Lean and Release Technique to Emphasize Response Inhibition and Action Selection in Reactive Balance. J Vis Exp. 2020 Mar 19;(157):10.3791/60688. doi: 10.3791/60688.