Citation

Motealleh A, Sinaei E, Nouraddinifard E, Rezaei I. J. Bodyw. Mov. Ther. 2021; 26: 443-447.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jbmt.2020.12.020

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: and purpose: Performing a cognitive task while maintaining postural stability, known as "dual-task" condition, can increase the cognitive demand and reduce the postural control capacity. The inability to allocate attention to postural control under dual-task conditions may lead to balance impairments, particularly in older adults. The present study aimed to compare the effects of different dual-task conditions of backward counting (BC) and visual attention (VA) on older adults' postural balance performance.

METHODS: Twenty asymptomatic volunteers (mean age: 70.4 ± 4.1 years) were recruited. Participants stood on a foam surface placed over a force plate, and displacement and sway velocity of their center of pressure (COP) in anterior-posterior (AP) and medial-lateral (ML) directions were recorded under three conditions: BC dual-task, VA dual-task (control of center of mass with a laser pointer), and quiet stance as the control task (CT).

RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant difference in AP and ML sway velocities between conditions with p-values of 0.039 and 0.042, respectively. The LSD post-hoc test revealed that the BC task significantly increased AP sway velocity compared to the CT (p = 0.013), and the VA task significantly increased ML sway velocity compared to the CT (p = 0.034) and the BC tasks (p = 0.026). There were no statistically significant differences between conditions for ML (p = 0.058) and AP (p = 0.350) displacements and total sway velocity (p = 0.051).

CONCLUSION: Older adults' postural stability can be impaired under dual-task conditions and the present study revealed that various dual tasks increase postural sway in different directions.

Language: en

Keywords

Visual attention; Aging; Dual-task; Force plate; Postural balance