The overall goal of my research is to help all people to be as physically active and as mobile as they want and need to be for their whole lives. My work has identified the specific challenges that older adults and people with neurologic conditions experience with safe mobility and participation in physical activity (e.g., increased fall risk, low balance confidence and exercise self-efficacy). This work then informs the development of interventions to improve safe independent mobility and participation in daily physical activity. I evaluate these interventions, using multi-stage clinical trials (i.e., pilot studies, single-site clinical trials, and multi-site clinical trials), systematic reviews and meta-analyses, and qualitative methods to explore participant and clinician perspectives. I use implementation science theory to ensure that successful interventions are used in clinical practice.
Can reactive balance training stop people falling in their everyday lives?
Study Status: completed
Institute: KITE Research Institute
Study Purpose: We wanted to know if people who have trouble with balance fall less often after doing a new kind of exercise, called reactive balance training.
Background: Staying healthy is important, and exercise is a great way to do that. Balance exercises improve balance and keep us from falling in our daily activities. There are two types of balance training. One type works on staying balanced while doing something challenging, like standing on one leg. The other type, called reactive balance training, works on quickly reacting after losing balance. We want to know if reactive balance training is the best way to prevent falls in daily life.
Study Methods: We looked at the results of 29 studies that tested how reactive balance training compared to other exercises or no treatment. These studies included older adults or people with health problems that affect balance.
Key Findings: When we combined the results of the studies, we learned that people who did reactive balance training reported about 40% fewer falls in their daily lives than those who did other exercises or no exercises at all.
Reactive balance training can be a helpful part of programs designed to prevent falls for people with balance problems.
Health Conditions:
Rehabilitation Services
How much training do we need to stop ourselves from falling?
Study Status: active
Institute: KITE Research Institute
Study Purpose: We want to know how much reactive balance training is needed to improve balance. We are doing a small study to help us to plan a bigger study to find out.
Background: When we stumble or trip, we use quick steps to keep from falling. Practicing these quick steps when we lose balance helps us to get better at it. This practice is called reactive balance training.
People who had a stroke often have trouble with balance and are more likely to fall. Doing reactive balance training might stop them from falling in daily life. But we are not sure how much of this training is best.
Study Methods: In this study, we are working with people who recently had a stroke. They will do 6 balance training sessions over 3-4 weeks. Some of these sessions will be reactive balance training, and some will be other exercises made for people who have had a stroke.
Before and after the training, we will test how well they keep their balance. They will walk on a platform that moves like they are slipping or tripping, and we will watch how they react using special cameras. This will help us understand how much reactive balance training is needed to improve balance and prevent falls.
Health Conditions:
Stroke
External Links:
- Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto
- Faculty Member, Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto
- Affiliate Scientist, Sunnybrook Research Institute