TY - JOUR A1 - Zouita, Sghaier A1 - Zouhal, Hassane A1 - Ferchichi, Habiba A1 - Paillard, Thierry A1 - Dziri, Catherine A1 - Hackney, Anthony C. A1 - Laher, Ismail A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Ben Moussa Zouita, Amira T1 - Effects of Combined Balance and Strength Training on Measures of Balance and Muscle Strength in Older Women With a History of Falls JF - Frontiers in Physiology N2 - Objective: We investigated the effects of combined balance and strength training on measures of balance and muscle strength in older women with a history of falls. Methods: Twenty-seven older women aged 70.4 ± 4.1 years (age range: 65 to 75 years) were randomly allocated to either an intervention (IG, n = 12) or an active control (CG, n = 15) group. The IG completed 8 weeks combined balance and strength training program with three sessions per week including visual biofeedback using force plates. The CG received physical therapy and gait training at a rehabilitation center. Training volumes were similar between the groups. Pre and post training, tests were applied for the assessment of muscle strength (weight-bearing squat [WBS] by measuring the percentage of body mass borne by each leg at different knee flexions [0°, 30°, 60°, and 90°], sit-to-stand test [STS]), and balance. Balance tests used the modified clinical test of sensory interaction (mCTSIB) with eyes closed (EC) and opened (EO), on stable (firm) and unstable (foam) surfaces as well as spatial parameters of gait such as step width and length (cm) and walking speed (cm/s). Results: Significant group × time interactions were found for different degrees of knee flexion during WBS (0.0001 < p < 0.013, 0.441 < d < 0.762). Post hoc tests revealed significant pre-to-post improvements for both legs and for all degrees of flexion (0.0001 < p < 0.002, 0.697 < d < 1.875) for IG compared to CG. Significant group × time interactions were found for firm EO, foam EO, firm EC, and foam EC (0.006 < p < 0.029; 0.302 < d < 0.518). Post hoc tests showed significant pre-to-post improvements for both legs and for all degrees of oscillations (0.0001 < p < 0.004, 0.753 < d < 2.097) for IG compared to CG. This study indicates that combined balance and strength training improved percentage distribution of body weight between legs at different conditions of knee flexion (0°, 30°, 60°, and 90°) and also decreased the sway oscillation on a firm surface with eyes closed, and on foam surface (with eyes opened or closed) in the IG. Conclusion: The higher positive effects of training seen in standing balance tests, compared with dynamic tests, suggests that balance training exercises including lateral, forward, and backward exercises improved static balance to a greater extent in older women. KW - aging KW - exercise KW - postural sway KW - force KW - tasks Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.619016 SN - 1664-042X VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grabow, Lena A1 - Young, James D. A1 - Byrne, Jeannette M. A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Behm, David George T1 - Unilateral Rolling of the Foot did not Affect Non-Local Range of Motion or Balance JF - Journal of sports science & medicine N2 - Non-local or crossover (contralateral and non-stretched muscles) increases in range-of-motion (ROM) and balance have been reported following rolling of quadriceps, hamstrings and plantar flexors. Since there is limited information regarding plantar sole (foot) rolling effects, the objectives of this study were to determine if unilateral foot rolling would affect ipsilateral and contralateral measures of ROM and balance in young healthy adults. A randomized within-subject design was to examine non-local effects of unilateral foot rolling on ipsilateral and contralateral limb ankle dorsiflexion ROM and a modified sit-and-reachtest (SRT). Static balance was also tested during a 30 s single leg stance test. Twelve participants performed three bouts of 60 s unilateral plantar sole rolling using a roller on the dominant foot with 60 s rest intervals between sets. ROM and balance measures were assessed in separate sessions at pre-intervention, immediately and 10 minutes post-intervention. To evaluate repeated measures effects, two SRT pre-tests were implemented. Results demonstrated that the second pre-test SRT was 6.6% higher than the first pre-test (p = 0.009, d = 1.91). There were no statistically significant effects of foot rolling on any measures immediately or 10 min post-test. To conclude, unilateral foot rolling did not produce statistically significant increases in ipsilateral or contralateral dorsiflexion or SRT ROM nor did it affect postural sway. Our statistically non-significant findings might be attributed to a lower degree of roller-induced afferent stimulation due to the smaller volume of myofascia and muscle compared to prior studies. Furthermore, ROM results from studies utilizing a single pre-test without a sufficient warm-up should be viewed critically. KW - Crossover KW - flexibility KW - postural sway KW - myofascial KW - self massage Y1 - 2017 SN - 1303-2968 VL - 16 SP - 209 EP - 218 PB - Department of Sports Medicine, Medical Faculty of Uludag University CY - Bursa ER -