Long-term effects of new progressive group balance training for elderly people with increased risk of falling - a randomized controlled trial

This report has been verified by one or more authors of the original publication.

59 elderly participants were recruited to determine the effect of a balance training program on gait parameters and step execution. Participants were allocated to undergo group balance training or to a control protocol, where they were instructed to live life normally. Despite the beneficial effect of the balance training after 3 months, assessment at 9 and 15 months displayed that most improvements had gradually diminished. A treatment effect concerning fastest gait speed and dual-task step execution remained at final follow-up, favouring the training group. However, the incidence of falls in the training group was significantly higher than that of the control.