Effectiveness of Senior Dance on risk factors for falls in older adults (DanSE): a study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionStrong evidence shows that exercise is effective to improve fall risk factors among older people. However, older people's participation and adherence to exercise programmes is suboptimal. Type of exercise and apathy are reported to be barriers to exercise participation, suggesting that new effective interventions are needed. The primary aim of this randomised controlled trial is to investigate the effect of Senior Dance plus brief education for falls prevention on balance among people aged 60 years or over, compared with a control group receiving only brief education.Methods and analysisThis single-blind randomised controlled trial will involve 82 community-dwelling older people aged 60 years or over who are cognitively intact. Participants allocated to the intervention group will attend a single educational class on strategies to prevent falls, and will participate in a 12-week, twice-weekly group-based programme of Senior Dance. The Senior Dance consists of different choreographies, which include rhythmic and simple movements with rhythmic folk songs. Participants allocated to the control group will attend the same educational class that intervention group participants will receive, and will be instructed not to take part in any regular exercise programme. The primary outcome will be single-leg stance with eyes closed. Secondary outcomes include: Short Physical Performance Battery, Falls Efficacy Scale, Trail Making Test and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Continuous outcomes will be reported using mean (SD) or median (IQR), depending on the distribution of the data. The linear regression approach to analysis of covariance will be used to compare the mean effect between groups. All patients will be included in the analyses following an intention-to-treat approach.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been granted by the Human Ethics Committee of the São Paulo State University (CAAE 48665215.9.0000.5402). Outcomes will be disseminated through publication in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at conferences.Trial registration numberNCT02603523, Pre-results.

The impact of therapeutic patient education and physical activity programs on the fall risk of elderly people

“…The beneficial effects this training has on both the balance score and the fear of falling are in line with findings of many empirical studies on physical activity (e.g., Buchner et al, 1997;Chang et al, 2004;Franco et al, 2016;Gillespie et al, 2012;Sousa et al, 2017) and combined programs (El-Khoury et al, 2013;2015;Gillespie et al, 2012;Shumway-cook et al, 2007). These results confirm that elderly people who have had a previous fall/falls may benefitin terms of balance and fear of fallingfrom training programs based on therapeutic patient education and/or on physical activities.…”

“…Many preventive intervention programs based on reported risk factors have been established and evaluated (for a review, Gillespie et al, 2012). A substantial number of studies have shown that physical exercise interventions have proved to be effective in reducing the fall risk, including Tai Chi (e.g., Wong, Lin, Chou, Tang, & Wong, 2001), aerobic and resistance exercise (Sousa, Mendes, Silva & Oliveira, 2017), dancing (Franco et al, 2016), endurance, muscle strengthening, stretching, and balance training (e.g., Buchner et al, 1997;Gardner, Robertson, & Campbell, 2000), or combinations of these activities (Shumway-Cook, Grubner, Baldwin, & Liao, 1997;Skelton & Dinan, 1999). These studies have shown an improvement in lower limb strength, balance, and functional abilities in addition to reduced fall risk as well as fear of falling (Howe, Rochester, Jackson, Banks, & Blair, 2007;Sherrington et al, 2008).…”

The effect of eHealth-based falls prevention programmes on balance in people aged 65 years and over living in the community: protocol for a systematic review of randomised controlled trials

“…Balance is a strong risk factor for falls and has been used as a proxy measure of the possible impact of an intervention on falls in circumstances where resources do not allow for the conduct of an adequately powered trial (which would require approximately 500 participants), with falls as the primary outcome. Functional measures of balance are valid predictors of falls 18 19. We will also extract measures of fall rate, fall risk, fear of falling where they are included in studies as secondary outcomes.…”

Effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and light-emitting diodes (LEDT) applied during combined training on performance and post-exercise recovery: protocol for a randomized placebo-controlled trial

“…To ensure allocation concealment, randomization to groups will be undertaken by an independent researcher who will be instructed not to inform the participants or other researchers. 34 …”