Our aim was to observe, through objective testing using an assessment module incorporated in a new exergaming system, whether elderly people’s static and functional balance is improved by a balance exergaming training program based on movements performed in everyday life. Thirteen healthy elderly women participated in 12 sessions of balance-based exergaming training (three times a week, 30 min per session). All objective outcomes, the quiet standing test, functional balance test (FBT), and limit of stability (LOS) test, were measured on three occasions: before intervention, after six training sessions, and after the completion of the four-week program. The results showed a significant improvement in LOS performance after the intervention. In FBT, participants exhibited a significant decrease (p < 0.01; Kendall’s W = 0.5) in the average time to target hit after six trainings. The average center of pressure velocity increased after six and 12 sessions, however did not reach significance (p = 0.053); nevertheless the size of the effect was large (η_p2 = 0.22). The parameters of the quiet standing test were not significantly affected by the training. The results support the need for more definite and objective studies assessing exergaming for balance in elderly.

Balance can be a main factor contributing to success in many disciplines, and biathlon is a representative example. A more stable posture may be a key factor for shooting scores. The center of foot pressure (COP) is commonly recorded when evaluating postural control. As COP measurements are highly irregular and non-stationary, non-linear deterministic methods, such as entropy, are more appropriate for the analysis of COP displacement. The aim of our study was to investigate whether the longitudinal effects of biathlon training can elicit specific changes in postural control. Eight national-level biathletes, 15 non-athletes who prior to the experiment took part in 3 months of shooting training, and 15 non-athletes with no prior rifle shooting experience took part in our study. The data was collected with the use of a force plate. Participants performed three balance tasks in quiet standing, the shooting position (internal focus–participants concentrated on maintaining the correct body position and rifle), and aiming at the target (external focus–participants concentrated on keeping the laser beam centered on the targets). Biathletes obtained significantly lower values of sample entropy compared to the other groups during the shooting and aiming at the target trials (p<0.05). External and internal focuses influenced the process of postural control among participants who had prior rifle shooting experience and the control group; they obtained significantly higher values of sample entropy while shooting and aiming at the target compared to the quiet standing trial (p<0.05). The biathletes obtained significantly lower values of sample entropy in the aiming at the target position compared to the quiet standing trial. Specific balance training is associated with the ability to deal with a more challenging, non-specific task. The biathletes seemed to employ a different motor control strategy than the beginners and control group, creating repeating patterns (more regular signal for COP) to keep one’s balance during the shooting and aiming at the target positions.

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an 8-week complex balance training program on dynamic balance in skiers according to the new balance training protocol. Design. Intervention study, comprising 8 weeks of core stability, plyometric, balance, and stretching exercises. Participants. Ten young skiers volunteered to take part in this study (average age, height, and body mass were 16,44 +/- 1,07 years, 172,76+/-8,84 cm, and 67,4 11,44 kg, respectively (mean +/- SD)). Main Outcome Measures. Subjects’ dynamic balance performance was assessed and retested after training completion with the use of dynamic balance measurement within the Optojump Next System. Results. The results of 8-week complex balance training showed significant improvements for jump height (H) and flight time (FT) for the left leg and jumping area in both legs. Conclusion. The complex balance training program improved parameters of dynamic stability in young skiers and led to decreased asymmetry between lower extremities.

Falls pose a serious problem in elderly and clinical populations. Most often, they lead to a loss of mobility and independence. They might also be an indirect cause of death. The aim of this study was to determine an objective predictor of the fear of falling and falls in elderly subjects (ESs) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) subjects. Thirty-two ESs were examined in this study, of whom sixteen were diagnosed with PD. The testing procedures comprised force plate measurements (limit of stability test–LOS test) and clinical tests (Berg Balance Scale, Functional Reach Test, Timed Up and Go test, Tinetti test). The Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) was used to evaluate the fear of falling. The range of the maximum forward lean was normalized to the length from the ankle joint to the head of the first metatarsal bone and was named the functional forward stability indicator (FFSI). The FFSI, derived from the LOS test, allowed us to demonstrate the real deficit in functional stability and individual safety margins. Moreover, the FFSI was highly correlated with the FES-I score and almost all clinical test results in elderly subjects (r>0,6; p0,6, p<0.05) was noted. The PD subjects presented a different balance strategy when close to their stability limits, which was also reflected in the lower values of sample entropy (t = (-2.40); p<0.05; d = 0.87). The FFSI might be a good predictor of the fear of falling in the group of elderly people. Additionally, the FFSI allows us to show real balance deficits both in PD subjects and in their healthy peers without the need for a reference group and norms. In conclusion, it is postulated that the popular clinical assessments of postural balance in PD subjects should be accompanied by reliable posturography measurements.

Background: Balance disorders in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are associated with a change in balance-keeping strategy and reflex disorders which regulate the maintenance of vertical body posture. Center of foot pressure (COP) displacement signals were analyzed during quiet standing experiments to define such changes. The research aimed to apply stock exchange indices based on the trend change analyses to the assessment of a level of the Parkinson disease progression on the grounds of the analysis of the COP signals. Methods: 30 patients in two stages of PD, 40 elderly participants, and 20 individuals at a young age were studied. Each person was subjected to 3 measurements with open and closed eyes. A technical analysis of the COP displacement signal was performed, and the following quantities were determined: indices related to the number of trend changes (TCI), indices defining a mean time (TCI_dT), and mean displacement (TCI_dS) and mean velocity (TCI_dV) between such changes. Results: The results indicate a higher TCI value for PD than for aged-matched control group (p < 0.05). In the case of PD patients, there was also an increase in the TCI_dS value by 2–5 mm, which mainly contributed to the increase in TCI_dV. Statistically significant differences for the TCI_dT values occurred between all groups in which differences in the average COP velocity were noted. Conclusions: The TCI and TCI_dV results obtained for the healthy participants enabled the development of indices supporting PD diagnostics. The causes of the TCI_dV changes in patients were determined, i.e., whether they resulted from an increase in the TCI_dT or TCI_dS between the moments of trend changes indicated by the developed algorithm. The developed methodology provides new information on the impact of PD on the strategy of maintaining balance, which was impossible to obtain using currently used analyses. Trial registration The conducted research is an observational study and does not include a health care intervention. Participants gave their consent to participate in the research and the procedure was approved by the Institutional Bioethics Committee.