Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28610582›Full record

Trial reportJournal of negative results in biomedicine2017

Behavioral and neural adaptations in response to five weeks of balance training in older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

Jan Ruffieux, Audrey Mouthon, Martin Keller, Michael Wälchli, Wolfgang Taube

Open access · hybridAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of negative results in biomedicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
7.9field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Jan RuffieuxMovement and Sport Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Boulevard de Pérolles 90, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland. jan.ruffieux@unifr.ch.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0150-5548
Audrey MouthonMovement and Sport Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Boulevard de Pérolles 90, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Martin KellerMovement and Sport Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Boulevard de Pérolles 90, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Michael WälchliMovement and Sport Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Boulevard de Pérolles 90, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
Wolfgang TaubeMovement and Sport Sciences, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, Boulevard de Pérolles 90, 1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
University of Fribourg · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWhile the positive effect of balance training on age-related impairments in postural stability is well-documented, the neural correlates of such training adaptations in older adults remain poorly understood. This study therefore aimed to shed more light on neural adaptations in response to balance training in older adults.

methodsPostural stability as well as spinal reflex and cortical excitability was measured in older adults (65-80 years) before and after 5 weeks of balance training (n = 15) or habitual activity (n = 13). Postural stability was assessed during one- and two-legged quiet standing on a force plate (static task) and a free-swinging platform (dynamic task). The total sway path was calculated for all tasks. Additionally, the number of errors was counted for the one-legged tasks. To investigate changes in spinal reflex excitability, the H-reflex was assessed in the soleus muscle during quiet upright stance. Cortical excitability was assessed during an antero-posterior perturbation by conditioning the H-reflex with single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation.

resultsA significant training effect in favor of the training group was found for the number of errors conducted during one-legged standing (p = .050 for the static and p = .042 for the dynamic task) but not for the sway parameters in any task. In contrast, no significant effect was found for cortical excitability (p = 0.703). For spinal excitability, an effect of session (p < .001) as well as an interaction of session and group (p = .009) was found; however, these effects were mainly due to a reduced excitability in the control group.

conclusionsIn line with previous results, older adults' postural stability was improved after balance training. However, these improvements were not accompanied by significant neural adaptations. Since almost identical studies in young adults found significant behavioral and neural adaptations after four weeks of training, we assume that age has an influence on the time course of such adaptations to balance training and/or the ability to transfer them from a trained to an untrained task.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PhysiologicalBehaviorNervous System Physiological PhenomenaAdultAgedConditioning, PsychologicalFemaleHumansMalePostural BalanceReflexAgingBalance trainingH-reflexPostural controlTranscranial magnetic stimulation

Identifiers

PMID28610582
PMCPMC5470269
OpenAlexW2626933764

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.