Twenty-two university students with unilateral functional instability of the ankle participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. Subjects in both groups were trained to stand on the affected limb on an ankle disk. In group 1, two pieces of 1-cm wide nonelastic adhesive tape were applied to the skin around the lateral malleolus from the distal third of the lower leg to the sole of the foot before the training sessions. Subjects in group 2 participated in the training sessions without the application of the adhesive tape. Training was performed for 10 minutes a day, five times per week, for a period of 10 weeks. Subjects were tested for postural sway while standing on the affected limb before, during, and after the training period. In group 1, postural sway values decreased significantly after 4 weeks compared with the pretraining performance, and they were within the normal range after not more than 6 weeks of training. In group 2, the values did not improve significantly compared with the pretraining performance until after 6 weeks of training, and they were not within the normal range until after 8 weeks of training. The findings suggest that the 2-week earlier correction of postural sway in group 1 was due to an increased afferent input from skin receptors that were stimulated by the traction of the adhesive tape.

This study confirms that balance training in older adults performed using a foam rubber pad is effective for improving balance ability, and that this improvement occurs 2 months earlier compared with balance training performed on a stable surface. These findings suggest that balance training performed using a foam rubber pad is beneficial to clients and service providers because the programs improve physical functioning with a reduced number of exercise sessions.

Objective: To determine whether an exercise programme provided by public health nurses is effective in improving physical function and psychological status in elderly people, in reducing falls and risk factors for falls in elderly people, and whether the intervention is a feasible programme within the community. Design: Controlled intervention trial. Subjects: Participants included 144 persons in the intervention group and 124 persons in the control group, who were living at home, aged over 65 years, and with 5 or more risk factors for falls identified using the questionnaire for fall assessment (Suzuki). Methods: For participants in the intervention group, an exercise programme was provided by public health nurses. This comprised a weekly exercise class of 2 hours for 17 weeks, supplemented by daily home exercises. Number of risk factors, physical function and psychological status were compared between the intervention and control groups before and after intervention. The number of further falls during the intervention was also compared between the 2 groups. Results: The programme significantly improved physical function and emotional status, and reduced the number of falls and risk factors for falls. The excellent adherence rate represented broad acceptance of the intervention. Conclusion: The intervention programme was effective and feasible to operate in the community.

These findings may contribute to earlier identification of high-risk fallers and intervention for fall prevention.

Eleven normal adults had their gait tested from the viewpoint of ground reaction force, myoelectric activity, and the motion of pronation-supination in the foot. There were marked differences in the myoelectric activity between the large lateral component force and the smaller one during the midstance phase. When the lateral component force was large, the pronation of the foot was small; the peroneus longus was active during the midstance phase; and the activity of the tibialis posterior disappeared earlier than in the small component. On the other hand, when the lateral component force was small, the pronation was large; the tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus, and extensor hallucis longus were all active; but the peroneus longus remained inactive during the midstance phase. Based on these findings, it is suggested that the leg muscles and the motion of the foot take part in controlling the medial lateral balance in walking.

No abstract

Community care professionals were asked to complete a questionnaire concerning individual disabled elderly people living at home for whom they were currently

The purpose of this study was to conduct different interventions for frail community-dwelling elderly persons and investigate the time course changes in their physical function.[Subjects] The subjects were 51 frail community-dwelling elderly over 65 years of age, classified from category 1 of needing support to category 1 of needing care. [Method] The subjects were divided into a balance exercise group (24 persons) and a muscle strength exercise group (27 persons), according to site, and exercises were performed for 1 hour once a week for 3 months. Oneleg standing with eyes open, the sit-to-stand (STS) time, timed up-and-go (TUG), and lower limb muscle strength were used to assess physical function, and their time course changes were analyzed in each group. [Results] In the balance exercise group, lower limb muscle strength had significantly increased after 1 month, and subsequently all the physical function assessments significantly improved. In the muscle strength exercise group, lower limb muscle strength increased significantly after 2 months, and subsequently the results of the STS and TUG times significantly improved.[Conclusion] In each of the exercise groups, physical function improved after increase in lower limb muscle strength. Furthermore, different responses were shown to the balance and muscle strengthening exercises.