Effects of mental practice on balance in elderly women.

This experimental field study examined the potential usefulness of mental practice for improving physical performance in health care. Ideokinetic facilitation, which involves the use of idealized visual and kinesthetic mental images, was used as mental practice. Thirty-six women over the age of 70 were assigned to one of three intervention groups: Group A, nonsense; Group B, relaxation; or Group C, ideokinetic facilitation. Baseline and final measures of one-legged balance time were compared after a three-day intervention period. Results showed significant improvement between baseline and final measures within Group C only (t = 2.64, p less than or equal to .05). The improvement in Group C, however, was not significantly more than the improvement in Groups A and B. This study suggests that mental practice of a physical task can improve performance and may be of use to the physical therapy clinician.