Article

Objective: To determine whether plantar perception training using a hardness
discrimination task efficiently improves stabilization of standing posture
balance in the old old as well as the very old. Design:
A randomized two-group
parallel controlled trial.
Setting: Nursing homes.
Participants: Forty-six
elderly persons 75 years of age or older living in nursing facilities were
randomly assigned evenly to either an intervention or a control group.
Intervention: The intervention group was given a task to discriminate hardness
differences while standing on foam rubber of different levels of hardness, while
the control group was given the task to simply remain standing on foam rubber.
The tasks were imposed for 10 successive days. Outcome measures: Outcome
assessment was made by determinations of centre-of-gravity sway in the standing
position and the Functional Reach Test. Results: Planter perception was
significantly improved and centre-of-gravity sway in the standing position was
also significantly reduced in the intervention group after the intervention. In
the control group, however, there were no significant changes in perception or in
sway (P < 0.01) There was a significant difference in the Functional Reach Test
values between the two groups: an increment of 12.3 +/- 10.1 cm in the
intervention group vs. 2.3 +/- 5.8 cm in the control group (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: These results suggested that plantar perception exercises might
efficiently stabilize standing postural balance in the old old as well as the very old.

Langue : ANGLAIS