Department of Human Health Sciences, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2011 Oct-Dec;23(5-6):386-92. doi: 10.1007/BF03337763. Epub 2010 Oct 27.
A close relationship exists between dual-task (DT)-related gait changes and the risk of falling in the elderly. However, the impact of DT training on the incidence of falls in the elderly remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a seated stepping exercise in DT conditions to improve walking ability in community-dwelling elderly.
This was a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in community-dwelling elderly in Japan. Fifty-three participants were randomly assigned to a DT group (stepping exercise in DT conditions, n=26) and a singletask (ST) group (stepping exercise in ST conditions, n=27). All participants received 50 min group training sessions, once a week for 24 weeks. Outcome measures were based on differences in walking ability in singletask (ST), cognitive-task (CT), and manual-task (MT) conditions between DT and ST groups.
Participants in the DT group showed significantly greater improvement in outcome measures, including 10-m gait speed, walking cadence, and cost during cognitive and manual tasks. The number of enumerated figures during CT, as well as the numbers of steps taken and of enumerated figures during stepping with MT demonstrated significant Group × Time interactions (p<0.05).
This RCT suggests that the seated stepping exercise is more effective at improving ambulatory function in DT conditions than in ST conditions.
双重任务（DT）相关的步态变化与老年人跌倒风险之间存在密切关系。然而，DT 训练对老年人跌倒发生率的影响尚不清楚。我们旨在评估在 DT 条件下进行坐姿踏步运动对改善社区居住老年人步行能力的效果。
这是一项在日本社区居住老年人中进行的随机对照试验（RCT）。53 名参与者被随机分配到 DT 组（DT 条件下进行踏步运动，n=26）和单任务（ST）组（ST 条件下进行踏步运动，n=27）。所有参与者均接受了 50 分钟的小组训练课程，每周一次，持续 24 周。根据 DT 和 ST 组在单任务（ST）、认知任务（CT）和手动任务（MT）条件下步行能力的差异来评估结果。
DT 组的参与者在结果测量方面表现出显著的改善，包括 10 米步行速度、步频以及在认知和手动任务期间的步行成本。在 CT 期间列举的数字数量，以及在 MT 期间踏步的步数和列举的数字数量均表现出显著的组间×时间交互作用（p<0.05）。
这项 RCT 表明，与 ST 条件相比，坐姿踏步运动在 DT 条件下更能有效改善步行功能。
