In the past 10 years, Charlotte Mullen, 74, has noticed her legs getting weaker. Although she has not fallen yet, she has come close many times, and has at times felt inhibited by her lack of leg strength.
But a study by researchers in the department of exercise and movement science could benefit people like Mullen. The study aims to find out if muscle conditioning can improve balance in elderly people.
“The ability of adults over 65 to live independently is compromised because of their fear of falling and shattering a hip,” said Jennifer Hess, director of the study. She added that this a common accident: Every year, one in three adults over 65 falls and breaks a hip.
Although the study focuses on the elderly, Hess said it affects everyone.
“All of us have parents or grandparents we know now who could benefit from this knowledge,” she said.
Hess will lead the study, which will analyze 36 individuals age 65 and older three days a week for 12 weeks. The participants’ balance and muscle strength will be tested at the beginning of the study. After low-impact muscle training focusing on lower leg muscles, the balance and muscle strength will be retested and compared with the original figures.
Hess sold her chiropractor practice two years ago to earn her doctorate. While in practice, Hess treated a number of elderly patients injured because an impaired sense of balance resulted in falls, and she decided to focus her doctoral research on using muscle strength training to improve impaired balance.
She said she began by examining other studies that used strength training to improve balance in athletes. These studies found that by increasing ankle strength, balance improved. What makes her study unique, Hess said, is that it focuses on people who are currently having balance problems.
Mullen said she believes that strength training will help her and other elderly people accomplish more. With improved balance, Mullen thinks she will be able to perform everyday activities such as shopping, cleaning house and even walking better.
Hess said researchers in the study will use a hydraulic platform that simulates slips and trips. The participant stands on a platform in a harness and the platform is set to move forward or backward. Four video cameras surround the platform, monitoring the movement, while sensors in the platform analyze how long it takes the participant to regain equilibrium after a slip or trip.
Despite having the equipment ready to go, Hess said the biggest obstacle will be recruiting people.
“We are looking for people who are healthy, but balance impaired,” she said.
Hess said the study needs six people to begin, and her team is using advertisements highlighting the possible benefits of the study in special-interest publications to attract participants.
In preparation for the study, Hess and her colleagues designed a muscle strength training facility. Equipment that was previously used by Physical Activity and Recreation Services in Esslinger Hall was given to the department for the study. After this study, the room will be open to other researchers interested in strength training.
Paul van Donkelaar, associate professor in the department of exercise and movement science, said there is interest among other graduate students in using the facility.
“It opens up the possibility of research for other students,” van Donkelaar said.