1- Department of Motor Behavior, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Physical Education and Sport Science, Faculty of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Khorasgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran.
3- Department of Sport Biomechanics, Kinesiology Research Center, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran.
4- Sports Sciences Research Institute of Iran (SSRII), Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (2690 Views)
Purpose: As many older people fall during dual tasks, we aimed to examine the effect of different cognitive loads on learning gait stability in younger and older adults.
Methods: 10 younger (Mean±SD age: 25.91±3.42 years) and 10 older adults (Mean±SD: 66.65±4.28 years) were healthy volunteers without a history of falls. They were asked to do three tasks on a treadmill with cognitive load (none, simple, and complex). The Gait-stability Ratio (GSR) was calculated in each condition. Two-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to examine the mean differences at a significance level of 0.05.
Results: The findings showed that high cognitive load behavior during preferred speed walking in the younger and older adults decreases walking speed, and subjects learn to achieve greater stability. It was determined that by applying different cognitive loads (none, simple, and complex), the GSR value in older adults was higher than younger adults (P<0.01).
Conclusion: The results showed that the older adults, through different walking strategies, especially the lowering phase, provide double support while walking so that they fall less with increasing steadiness. Also, walking exercises along with complex cognitive load can help older adults to better motor control.
Full-Text [PDF 610 kb]
(1500 Downloads)
| |
Full-Text (HTML) (1263 Views)
● In a dynamic system, additional cognitive conditions increase the control effort, while the control system tries to reduce the control effort on the system.
● Control capacity is limited, and the system uses different mechanisms to compensate for this disorder, which is more tangible among the youth with better performance.
● Older adults use more support while walking by using different strategies, especially the lowering phase that by increasing in gait stability ratio, the odds of falling decreases.
Plain Language Summary
The natural aging process endangers older adults with a higher risk of falling while walking. A dual-task situation may affect walking performance. In this study, we found out that complex cognitive load exercises during preferential walking in the younger and older adults would decrease walking speed and increase learning gait stability. The gait stability ratio in older adults is higher than that in young adults to achieve greater balance.
Type of Study:
Research |
Subject:
General Received: 2019/05/18 | Accepted: 2019/07/10 | Published: 2019/11/12