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conferenceseries
.com
October 13-15, 2016 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3
rd
International Conference and Expo on
Physiotherapy
Volume 6, Issue 5 (Suppl)
J Nov Physiother
ISSN: 2165-7025 JNP, an open access journal
Physiotherapy 2016
October 13-15, 2016
J Nov Physiother 2016, 6:5 (Suppl)
http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2165-7025.C1.009TheEffect ofASingle Intervention ofTactile Feedback (Novel Treatment) Compared toVisual Feedback
on Body Sway in the Elderly; ARandomized Clinical Trial
Alshammari F
1
, Petrofsky J
2
, Dehom S
3
, Daher N
4
, Alzoghbieh E
5
1
Physical and Occupational Therapy department, The Hashemite University, Jordan
2
School of Physical Therapy, Touro University Nevada, USA
3
Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Loma Linda, USA
4
Physical Therapy Department, School of Allied Health, Loma Linda, USA
5
Epidemiology, School of Medicine, The University of Jordan, Jordan
A
ging process involves many physiological changes that affect body balance. Also, elderly experience higher incidence of diseases
that affect body balance. Studies have shown a direct relationship between body sway and incidence of fall in elderly. One-third of
the people aged 65years or older fall every year. About 20-30% of these falls result in fall related injuries that require medical attention.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tactile feedback compared to visual feedback on body sway in elderly people.
Fifty one subjects were assigned randomly to either visual feedback (mean age 76.1± 7.1 years; n1=29)or tactile feedback (mean
age73.5±6.4 years; n2=22). A balance platform was used to measure average body sway pre and post intervention. Two conditions
were used to test body sway: 1) Standing on platform with eyes open and 2) Standing on platform with eyes closed. Intervention
consisted of 2 sessions: A) Standing on platform for 4 minutes while holding still and B) Standing on foam for 2 minutes while holding
still. Tactile feedback was provided as electrical stimulation resulting in tingling sensation on the lower leg if the sway exceeds 50%
of subject’s average body sway. A monitor was used to project the motion of the center of pressure to provide visual feedback. Visual
feedback did not result in significant reduction in body sway for both conditions. However, tactile feedback resulted in significant
reduction in body sway with eyes closed post intervention versus pre intervention (.9± .5vs1.3±.9, p=.04) but not with eyes open.
falshammari@llu.edu