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Research Reports |
SL Wolf, PhD, PT, FAPTA, is Professor and Director of Research, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Professor of Geriatrics, Department of Medicine, and Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, 1441 Clifton Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30322 (USA) (steve@spinal.emory.edu).
HX Barnhart, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Emory University.
GL Ellison is employed by the School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208.
CE Coogler, ScD, PT, is Assistant Professor, Division of Physical Therapy Education, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, and Instructor of Geriatrics, Emory University School of Medicine.
Background and Purpose. This study explored whether two exercise programs would affect the ability to minimize postural sway of 72 relatively inactive, older subjects who participated in the Atlanta FICSIT trial. Subjects. Subjects were randomly assigned to (1) a computerized balance training group, (2) a tai chi group, or (3) an educational group serving as a control for exercise. Each group consisted of 24 members. Methods. All subjects were evaluated under four postural conditions before, immediately after, and 4 months following their respective interventions, each of which was given over 15 weeks. Results. Platform balance measures revealed greater stability after training among subjects in the balance training group but little change in stability among subjects in the tai chi and educational group. Subjects in the tai chi group were less afraid of falling after training compared with subjects in other groups with similar covariates. Conclusion and Discussion. Unlike computerized balance training, tai chi does not improve measures of postural stability. Because tai chi delayed onset to first or multiple falls in older individuals, this effect does not appear to be associated with measures of enhanced postural stability. Tai chi may gain its success, in part, from promoting confidence without reducing sway rather than primarily facilitating a reduction in sway-based measures.
Key Words: Balance Exercise Geriatrics Movement Tai chi
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Physical Therapy 1997 77: 382-383.
Physical Therapy 1997 77: 383-384.
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