Alhasan Hammad, Hood Victoria, Mainwaring Frederick
Physiotherapy Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Science, Umm al-Qura University, Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
School of Health Science, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Clin Interv Aging. 2017 Mar 6;12:487-497. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S127023. eCollection 2017.
Balance is commonly affected by multiple factors, especially among the elderly population. Visual biofeedback (VBF) is an intervention tool that can be used in balance rehabilitation.
This study aimed to systematically review randomized controlled trials that examine whether VBF training is effective in improving balance in an elderly population.
Three databases were searched: CIAHL, EMBASE, and MEDLINE. The searches were limited to the period from 2010 to 2016.
Healthy adults, aged ≥65 years, with no specific disorders were included. Interventions were any VBF intervention with the aim of improving balance and were compared to no intervention, traditional exercises, placebo, or standard care. The outcome measures were balance as measured by any validated outcome measure.
The Physiotherapy Evidence Database quality assessment tool and The Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing risk of bias were used by two independent authors (HA and FM) in order to appraise the included studies.
The database search resulted in 879 articles, of which five papers were included. VBF was compared to no intervention, a placebo, and traditional exercise. The total number of participants in all the five included studies was 181, with a mean age of 74.3 years (standard deviation 6.7). Two studies were rated as high-quality studies, and three were rated as fair quality.
Engaging elderly people living in the community in VBF training was found to be effective and could improve their balance ability. However, the variation between studies in methodology, intervention protocol, and outcomes utilized made it difficult to inform a definitive statement regarding the potential application of VBF for balance training with the elderly. Furthermore, high-quality randomized control trials are required. The systematic review level of evidence is moderate, and the strength of recommendation is that VBF is likely to be beneficial.
平衡通常受多种因素影响，在老年人群中尤为如此。视觉生物反馈（VBF）是一种可用于平衡康复的干预工具。
本研究旨在系统评价随机对照试验，以检验VBF训练对改善老年人群平衡能力是否有效。
检索了三个数据库：CINAHL、EMBASE和MEDLINE。检索限定在2010年至2016年期间。
纳入年龄≥65岁、无特定疾病的健康成年人。干预措施为任何旨在改善平衡的VBF干预，并与无干预、传统运动、安慰剂或标准护理进行比较。结局指标为通过任何有效结局指标测量的平衡能力。
两位独立作者（HA和FM）使用物理治疗证据数据库质量评估工具和Cochrane协作网偏倚风险评估工具对纳入研究进行评价。
数据库检索得到879篇文章，其中5篇论文被纳入。将VBF与无干预、安慰剂和传统运动进行了比较。所有5项纳入研究的参与者总数为181人，平均年龄为74.3岁（标准差6.7）。两项研究被评为高质量研究，三项被评为中等质量。
发现让社区中的老年人参与VBF训练是有效的，且可改善他们的平衡能力。然而，研究在方法、干预方案和所采用的结局指标方面存在差异，这使得难以就VBF在老年人平衡训练中的潜在应用做出明确表述。此外，还需要高质量的随机对照试验。系统评价的证据水平为中等，推荐强度为VBF可能有益。
