No abstract

[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of yoga training on static and dynamic standing balance in obese individuals with poor standing balance. [Subjects and Methods] Sixteen obese volunteers were randomly assigned into yoga and control groups. The yoga training program was performed for 45 minutes per day, 3 times per week, for 4 weeks. Static and dynamic balance were assessed in volunteers with one leg standing and functional reach tests. Outcome measures were tested before training and after a single week of training. Two-way repeated measure analysis of variance with Tukey’s honestly significant difference post hoc statistics was used to analyze the data. [Results] Obese individuals showed significantly increased static standing balance in the yoga training group, but there was no significant improvement of static or dynamic standing balance in the control group after 4 weeks. In the yoga group, significant increases in static standing balance was found after the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th weeks. Compared with the control group, static standing balance in the yoga group was significantly different after the 2nd week, and dynamic standing balance was significantly different after the 4th week. [Conclusion] Yoga training would be beneficial for improving standing balance in obese individuals with poor standing balance.

Redistribution of mechanical output from the ankle to the hip during walking occurs with advanced age. Changes to tissues spanning the ankle may limit the joint from performing mechanical functions necessary to walk at fast speeds and older adults may redistribute work proximally to compensate. Older adults with Parkinson’s disease (PD) do not exhibit the distal-to-proximal redistribution and may therefore be limited in reaching fast walking speeds. We tested whether advanced aging, regardless of the presence of PD, limits the ability to increase motor-like behavior of the ankle as walking speed increases. We also tested whether healthy older adults—but not PD patients—would compensate for reduced motor-like behavior at the ankle with disproportionately larger mechanical redistributions at faster speeds. The 16 young, 16 older, and 8 PD-diagnosed adults walked at 0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 ms−1 on a treadmill. We used joint functional indexing to quantify motor-like behavior of the ankle and a hip-to-ankle mechanical work ratio to quantify mechanical redistribution. We found a significant group x speed interaction (p < 0.05) for motor-like behavior of the ankle, with younger adults increasing motor index more than the older and PD groups as walking speed increased. Contrary to our second hypothesis, we found a significant main effect of speed (p < 0.001) on redistribution ratios, indicating that all three groups decreased redistribution ratios as walking speed increased, but not a significant interaction.

<b><i>Background and Purpose:</i></b> Older adults with lower balance confidence demonstrate a reduced willingness to experience instability as the task of walking becomes more challenging (i.e., walking with a faster speed). However, the specific reason why is not known. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which capacity of increasing walking speeds relates to the attentional requirements (i.e., automaticity) of walking. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Sixteen young (31 ± 5.85 years) and 15 older participants (69 ± 3.04 years) began walking on a treadmill at 0.4 m/s, and speed was increased by 0.2 m/s until the participant either chose to stop or reached a speed of 2.0 m/s. Sixty steps were collected at steady-state speed for each walking trial. Kinematic data were collected, and the margin of stability in the anterior direction (MOS_AP) at heelstrike was quantified for each step. The timed up and go (TUG) and TUG dual (TUG_dual) task were performed, from which an automaticity index (TUG/TUG_dual × 100) was calculated. Older individuals were grouped based on whether they did or did not complete all walking speeds (i.e., completers [<i>n</i> = 9] or noncompleters [<i>n</i> = 6]). The fastest walking speed attempted (FSA), automaticity index, and MOS_AP were compared, and correlations were assessed between the FSA/MOS_AP and the automaticity index. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A significant difference was identified in an average MOS_AP at heelstrike between older completer and noncompleter groups (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Further, older adults with lower automaticity index choose to stop walking at lower speeds (<i>p</i> = 0.001). The FSA was positively correlated with the automaticity index (ρ = 0.81, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). Finally, the average MOS_AP at FSA and the automaticity index were also negatively correlated (<i>r</i> = −0.85, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Older adults with lower automaticity of walking choose to stop walking at speeds before they completed all walking speeds, which may relate with increased attentional demands required to maintain dynamic stability at higher walking speeds. Given that these were otherwise healthy adults, the combination of FSA and an automaticity of walking may help to identify individuals who should be considered for an assessment to identify walking problems.