Postural balance and falls in elderly nursing home residents enrolled in a ballroom dancing program.
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of a ballroom dancing program on the postural balance of institutionalized elderly residents. The sample consisted of 59 sedentary elderly residents of long-stay institutions who were randomly assigned to a ballroom dancing experimental group (EG, n=30) or a control group (CG, n=29). The ballroom dancing program consisted of three 50-min sessions each week on alternate days over a 12-week period. The dances included the foxtrot, waltz, rumba, swing, samba and bolero. The medical records of the subjects were reviewed to determine the number of falls they experienced in the three months prior to the intervention. Postural static balance was assessed using a Lizard (Med. EU., Italy, 2010) stabilometric and posturometric platform. Only patients in the EG lost a significant amount of weight (Δ=-2.85 kg) when comparing the pre- and post-test postural balance assessments. The intergroup comparison revealed a reduced lower limb weight distribution difference in the EG post-test compared to the CG post-test (p=0.012). In the intragroup comparison, the EG patients experienced significantly fewer falls post-test relative to pre-test (p<0.0001). This improvement was not observed for patients in the CG. In the intergroup analysis, we observed fewer falls in the EG post-test compared to the CG post-test (p<0.0001). Therefore it was conclude that sedentary elderly people living in long-term institutions can improve their balance via a ballroom dancing program. This activity improved balance and reduced the number of falls in this elderly population.
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: elianegsborges@hotmail.com.
Eliane Gomes
EG
da Silva Borges
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Rodrigo Gomes
RG
de Souza Vale
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; State University of Rio Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Samária Ali
SA
Cader
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; State University of Rio Janeiro (UERJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Nursing and Biosciences, Doctorate from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Silvania
S
Leal
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Francisco
F
Miguel
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Nursing and Biosciences, Doctorate from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Carlos Soares
CS
Pernambuco
Laboratory of Human Motricity Biosciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Postgraduate Program in Nursing and Biosciences, Doctorate from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro State (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Estélio H M
EH
Dantas
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D003615:Dancing / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009735:Nursing Homes; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*
Accidental falls; Frail elders; Postural equilibrium; Therapeutics