The effect of Single Task and Dual Task Balance Training on the Balance of Older Adults

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of three types of balancetraining: single task, dual task under fixed priority instructional set (Fp) and dualtask under a variable priority instructional set (Vp) on the balance of the elderly.The participants were 36 elderly over 65 years old from Kerman province whowere randomly divided into three groups (each 12 subjects) based on Burg pretestscores. The groups included single task, dual task under fixed priority and dualtask under variable priority. Experimental groups received 45 minutes of trainingsession, 3 sessions a week for 4 weeks. For data analysis, ANCOVA andBonferroni post hoc test were used at (P≤0.05). The results showed that asignificant difference between single task and dual task under fixed priority groupsand also between single task and dual task under variable priority (P=0.008 andP=0.000 respectively). There was no significant difference between dual task underfixed priority and variable priority groups (P=0.149). In addition, the results inTug test under dual task condition showed a significant difference between singletask and dual task under fixed priority groups and also between single task anddual task under variable priority groups and also between dual task under fixedand variable priority groups (P=0.035, P=0.033, P=0.000 respectively). Theresults showed that single and dual task balance training improved balanceperformance in the elderly but those who had training under dual taskoutperformed under single and dual task conditions.

Keywords

• aging
• balance
• dual task
• fixed priority
• single task
• variable priority