The development of a new rehabilitation programme to improve gait stability in the elderly.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K23268
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0909:Sports sciences, physical education, health sciences, and related fields
• Research Institution: 湘南医療大学
• Principal Investigator: Tsuchida Masayuki 湘南医療大学, 保健医療学部リハビリテーション学科理学療法学専攻, 助教 (30881221)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 歩行安定性 / 高齢者

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted a research to develop a new programme for gait practice aimed at improving gait stability, based on variable speed gait practice as an alternative to conventional constant speed gait practice. We hypothesised that gait stability would be increased by a gait speed adjustment task in which the gait speed is continuously and periodically changed. The results showed that the gait speed adjustment task had the immediate effect of increasing gait stability in healthy adults. The outcome was published on the scientific paper in 2023.

Free Research Field

基礎理学療法

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

速く歩くことの重要性は以前から知られており，高齢者を対象とした歩行練習においてもその重要性は例外ではない．しかしながら，下肢の関節不安定性の増大や呼吸循環器系の機能低下など，高齢者が速く歩くことを阻害する因子は数多くあり，定速で速く歩き続けることは高齢者にとって難易度の高い歩行課題である．今回の研究成果により，速く歩いたり遅く歩いたりを連続的かつ周期的に繰り返す歩行練習課題が，歩行安定性を向上させることが示唆された．これにより高齢者の転倒予防プログラムへの応用など，健康長寿社会の実現に向けた取り組みに寄与できると考える．