Background and aims. In the past, wobble-boards have been used to help rehabilitate patients with ankle injuries. Balance-boards have also been used to improve strength and balance in athletes. For the elderly population, wobble-boards have been shown to improve measures related to ankle proprioception but have never been used specifically to improve balance with the goal of fall prevention. The objective of this study is to compare the effectiveness of two types of balance-boards (wobble-board and rocker-board) to improve balance in elderly. The focus of the study is to measure any changes to functional balance, attentional demand while performing two tasks (dual task), postural sway during quiet standing and ankle joint dorsiflexion discrimination. Twenty-eight healthy elderly, 12 in the wobble-board group (age = 72.9 +/- 4.62), 11 in the rocker-board group (age = 73.5 +/- 4.08) participated in an 8-week intervention consisting of three sessions per week, 20 minutes each session. There were 5 elderly in the control group (age = 76.2 +/- 5.49). Baseline, post-training and retention measures of functional balance (CB&M), attentional demand, static balance (sway) and dorsiflexion discrimination were collected. Following the intervention, experimental groups had significantly improved their dynamic functional balance scores (p < 0.001). Attentional demand and postural sway remained unchanged in all groups (p > 0.05). The wobble-board group significantly improved ankle dorsiflexion discrimination (p < 0.001); however, the control group also improved (p < 0.05). In conclusion, balance-boards were effective for improving functional balance needed for daily activities. Lastly, more investigation is needed to assess the effect of a balance-board intervention on static balance and ankle dorsiflexion discrimination.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/27344 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Contant, Bruce |
| Publisher | University of Ottawa (Canada) |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 100 p. |
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