@article{ref1,
title="Comparative impacts of Tai Chi, balance training and a specially-designed yoga program on balance in older fallers",
journal="Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation",
year="2014",
author="Ni, Meng and Mooney, Kiersten and Richards, Luca and Balachandran, Anoop and Sun, Mingwei and Harriell, Kysha and Potiaumpai, Melanie and Signorile, Joseph F.",
volume="95",
number="9",
pages="1620-1628.e30",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: To compare the effect of a custom-designed yoga program with two other balance training programs. <br><br>DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: University neuromuscular research laboratory, Miami, US. PARTICIPANTS: A group of 39 older adults (74.15 ± 6.99 years) with a history of falling. INTERVENTIONS: Three different exercise interventions, Tai Chi, standard balance training (SBEP) or yoga (BYOGA) were given for 12 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Balance performance was examined during pretest and post-test using field tests including the 8-Foot Up & Go, One-Leg Stance, Functional Reach, usual and maximal walking speed. The static and dynamic balance was also assessed by postural sway and dynamic posturography, respectively. <br><br>RESULTS: Training produced significant improvements in all field tests (p <.005), but no group difference or time x group interaction were detected. For postural sway, significant decreases in the area of center of pressure with eyes open (p =.001) and closed (p =.002) were detected after training. For eyes open, maximums medial-lateral velocity significantly decreased for the sample (p =.013). For eyes closed, medial-lateral displacement decreased for Tai Chi (p <.01). For dynamic posturography, significant improvements in overall score (p =.001), Time on the test (p =.006) and two linear measures in lateral (p =.001) and anterior/posterior (p <.001) direction were seen for the sample. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: BYOGA was as effective as Tai Chi and SBEP for improving postural stability and may offer an alternative to more traditional programs.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0003-9993",
doi="10.1016/j.apmr.2014.04.022",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2014.04.022"
}