The role of attentional focus on walking efficiency among older fallers and non-fallers.
Background This study evaluated the effect of attentional focus instructions on movement efficiency during a level-ground walking task in older adults with and without a history of falls. Methods One hundred and thirty-four community-dwelling older adults were categorised into older fallers (OF) (n...
| Publicado en: | Age & Ageing Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 811 - 817 |
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Nov2019
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=140357986&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 140357986 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00020729 AGA jtl: Age & Ageing issn: 00020729 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Nov2019 vid: 48 iid: 6 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 140357986 10.1093/ageing/afz113 ppf: 811 ppct: 6 formats: tig: atl: The role of attentional focus on walking efficiency among older fallers and non-fallers. aug: au: Mak, Toby C T Young, William R Lam, Wing-Kai Tse, Andy C Y Wong, Thomson W L affil: School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China Institute of Environment, Health and Societies, Brunel University London, UK Department of Clinical Sciences, Brunel University London, UK College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, UK Li Ning Sports Science Research Center, Li Ning (China) Sports Goods Co. Ltd, Beijing, China Department of Kinesiology, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China su: Attention Behavior modification Confidence Motor ability Task performance Old age Leg physiology Diagnosis Electromyography Postural balance Accidental falls Gait in humans Muscle contraction Risk assessment Thigh Walking Independent living sug: subj: Attention Behavior modification Confidence Motor ability Task performance Old age Leg physiology Diagnosis Electromyography Postural balance Accidental falls Gait in humans Muscle contraction Risk assessment Thigh Walking Independent living keyword: attention efficiency falls gait muscle older people attention efficiency falls gait muscle older people ab: Background This study evaluated the effect of attentional focus instructions on movement efficiency during a level-ground walking task in older adults with and without a history of falls. Methods One hundred and thirty-four community-dwelling older adults were categorised into older fallers (OF) (n = 37) and older non-fallers (ONF) (n = 97). Each participant was instructed to walk at a self-selected pace along a 6 m walkway under three attentional focus conditions (i.e. internal, goal-directed and control) for a total of nine trials. Average muscle activity indices of lower limb co-contractions were measured using surface electromyography. Results Both shank and thigh muscle co-contractions were higher in OF than in ONF in all three conditions. OF also demonstrated higher shank muscle co-contraction under the internal relative to the goal-directed condition, with no such change observed in ONF. Conclusion Despite no significant between-group differences in functional balance and balance confidence, relative walking inefficiencies were observed in OF compared with ONF. This finding demonstrates the debilitating consequences of falling that can occur with relative independence from various physiological or psychological factors that are commonly associated with falling and used to rationalise behavioural change. We also provide evidence that OF are more susceptible to conditions that provoke them to allocate attention internally. Therefore, in clinical contexts (e.g. gait rehabilitation), verbal instructions that refer to body movements (internal focus) might serve to compromise movement efficiency in older adults with a history of falls. Such changes will, theoretically, lessen the ability to react efficiently to changing environments experienced in daily life. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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