A pilot study comparing changes in postural control following training using a video game balance board program and two standard activity-based balance intervention programs.

OBJECTIVE:
To compare the impacts of Tai Chi, a standard balance exercise program [SBEP] and video game balance board program on postural control and perceived falls risk.
DESIGN:
Randomized control trial.
SETTING:
Research laboratory.
PARTICIPANTS:
Forty independent seniors (72.10 ± 7.80) began the training, 27 completed.
INTERVENTIONS:
Tai Chi, a standard balance exercise program and a video game balance board program.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
Timed up-and-go (TUG), one-leg stand (OLS), functional reach (FR), Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA), force plate center of pressure (COP) and time-to-boundary (TTB), dynamic posturography (DP), Falls Risk for Older People-Community Setting (FROP-Com) and Falls Efficacy Scale (FES).
RESULTS:
No significant differences were seen between groups for any outcome measures at baseline, nor were significant time or group x time differences for any field test or questionnaire. No group x time differences were seen for any COP measures; however, significant time differences were seen for total COP, three of four anterior/posterior displacement and both velocity, and one displacement and one velocity medial/lateral measure across time for the entire sample. For DP, significant improvements in the overall score (DMA), and in two of the three linear and angular measures were seen for the sample.
CONCLUSIONS:
The video game balance board program, which can be performed at home, was as effective as Tai Chi and SBEP in improving postural control and balance dictated by the force plate postural sway and DP measures. This finding may have implications for exercise adherence since the at-home nature of the intervention eliminates many obstacles to exercise training.
Copyright © 2012 the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
PMID: 22414490