Effects of Balance Training Using Wobble Boards in the Elderly

Abstract

Few studies have examined balance training of elderly people using wobble boards. This study assessed the effects of wobble board balance training on physical function in institutionalized elderly people. This study examined 23 subjects (age 84.2 ± 5.9 years) who lived in a nursing home. The exercise program for the training group comprised balance training standing on a wobble board for 9 weeks, twice a week. In all, 11 training group subjects and 11 control group subjects completed this study. After 9 weeks, standing time on a wobble board, standing time on a balance mat, and maximum displacement distance of anterior-posterior center of pressure in the training group were significantly greater than those of the control group. Frequency analysis revealed that the power spectrum in 0.1-0.2 Hz significantly increased in the training group. These results suggest that wobble board training is effective for elderly people to improve their standing balance, by which they frequently control their center of gravity and maintain a standing posture on unstable surface conditions.

An investigation into the reliability and variability of wobble board performance in a healthy population using the SMARTwobble instrumented wobble board

“…There is a current drive for more objective measures of performance and function within Physiotherapy and therefore a need to quantify WB performance. As WB performance is believed to be intrinsically linked to balance function and as such impairments are important to identify (Ogaya, Ikezoe, Soda, & Ichihashi, 2011).…”

Relations among Dynamic Balance Tests and a Coordination Test Using Center of Pressure to Pursue a Randomly Moving Target

“…The DBBT has been used to evaluate balance ability because the balance board itself constitutes a perturbation to posture (Ogaya, Ikezoe, Soda, & Ichihashi, 2011). Participants stood barefoot on the dynamic balance board with their feet 30 cm apart and their arms held comfortably at their sides.…”

Characteristics of Static and Dynamic Balance Abilities in Competitive Swimmers

“…Ogaya et al [19], Noguchi et al [9], and Ogaya et al [20] assessed dynamic balance by testing stability while standing on an unstable stool. The DYJOC Board Plus (SAKAImed, Japan) was used to evaluate stability during a one-leg stand on an unstable stool in this study.…”

“…The value from the third trial was used in the study. Data sampling frequency was recorded at 40 Hz [9,19,20]. The fluctuation index in reference to a report of Ogaya et al [19] was selected as a parameter.…”