Can social dancing prevent falls in older adults? A protocol of the Dance, Aging, Cognition, Economics (DAnCE) Fall Prevention Randomised Controlled Trial.
Access status:
Open Access
Type
ArticleAuthor/s
Merom, DCumming, R
Mathieu, E
Anstey, K
Rissel, C
Simpson, JM
Morton, RL
Cerin, E
Sherrington, C
Lord, SR
Abstract
Falls are one of the most common health problems among older people and pose a major economic burden on health care systems. Exercise is an accepted stand-alone fall prevention strategy particularly if it is balance training or regular participation in Tai chi. Dance shares the ...
See moreFalls are one of the most common health problems among older people and pose a major economic burden on health care systems. Exercise is an accepted stand-alone fall prevention strategy particularly if it is balance training or regular participation in Tai chi. Dance shares the ‘holistic’ approach of practices such as Tai chi. It is a complex sensorimotor rhythmic activity integrating multiple physical, cognitive and social elements. Small-scale randomised controlled trials have indicated that diverse dance styles can improve measures of balance and mobility in older people, but none of these studies has examined the effect of dance on falls or cognition. This study aims to determine whether participation in social dancing: i) reduces the number of falls; and ii) improves cognitive functions associated with fall risk in older people.
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See moreFalls are one of the most common health problems among older people and pose a major economic burden on health care systems. Exercise is an accepted stand-alone fall prevention strategy particularly if it is balance training or regular participation in Tai chi. Dance shares the ‘holistic’ approach of practices such as Tai chi. It is a complex sensorimotor rhythmic activity integrating multiple physical, cognitive and social elements. Small-scale randomised controlled trials have indicated that diverse dance styles can improve measures of balance and mobility in older people, but none of these studies has examined the effect of dance on falls or cognition. This study aims to determine whether participation in social dancing: i) reduces the number of falls; and ii) improves cognitive functions associated with fall risk in older people.
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Date
2013Publisher
BMC Public HealthLicence
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0Faculty/School
Faculty of Medicine and HealthDepartment, Discipline or Centre
NHMRC Clinical Trials CentreShare