Background

Prior studies have shown that older adults reduced trunk acceleration when walking on a balance beam with haptic inputs provided by anchors; however, it is unknown whether these benefits would remain in the presence of a concurrent cognitive task.

Research question

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a cognitive task on balance control when using the anchors while walking on a balance beam in older adults.

Methods

Thirty older adults participated in this study. They walked on a balance beam under four conditions combining haptic inputs (with and without anchors) and a cognitive task (present and absent). The anchors consisted of a flexible cable with a small load (125 g) attached at the end contacting the ground. Participants held one anchor in each hand and dragged the loads over the ground while walking. In the cognitive task, participants silently counted the number of times they heard a target number within a series of random numbers and provided their response at the end of each trial. Trunk acceleration and normalized step speed were assessed.

Results

The anchors reduced the normalized step speed and the trunk acceleration amplitude in the frontal plane when walking on the beam. The cognitive task also diminished the normalized step speed in the beam walking. The use of the anchors did not influence the cognitive task performance.

Significance

Even on a balance beam in the presence of a cognitive task, haptic anchors were able to reduce trunk acceleration in older adults to improve balance control. The cognitive task did not affect the use of haptic anchors.

中文翻译：

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借助触觉锚可以改善束步步行过程中的躯干平衡，而不会干扰老年人的听觉认知任务。

背景

先前的研究表明，老年人在由锚提供的触觉输入的平衡木上行走时会降低躯干加速度；但是，尚不清楚在同时进行认知任务的情况下这些益处是否还会保留。

研究问题

这项研究旨在评估老年人在平衡木上行走时使用锚点时认知任务对平衡控制的影响。

方法

30名老年人参加了这项研究。他们在四种条件下走平衡木，结合了触觉输入（有或没有锚）和认知任务（有无）。锚固件由一根柔性电缆组成，该电缆在与地面接触的一端附着有一个小的负载（125克）。参加者每只手握住一个锚，并在行走时将重物拖到地面上。在认知任务中，参与者默默地统计了他们在一系列随机数字中听到目标数字的次数，并在每次试验结束时给出了他们的回答。评估躯干加速度和标准化步速。

结果

当在梁上行走时，锚降低了额叶表面的标准化步速和躯干加速度幅度。认知任务还减少了电子束走步中的标准化步速。锚点的使用不会影响认知任务的表现。

意义

即使在存在认知任务的平衡木上，触觉锚也能够降低老年人的躯干加速度，从而改善平衡控制。认知任务并未影响触觉锚的使用。