Agility Training for Older Adults to Improve Fall Risk Factors

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Age-Related Loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass; Aging; Sarcopenia; Cognitive Decline
• Interventions: Behavioral: Agility training; Behavioral: Exercise diary; Behavioral: Exercise recommendations

• Registration Number: NCT05727254
• Lead Sponsor: Oliver Faude

Brief Summary

In this randomized controlled trial the effect of 4 months of multi-component (strength, balance, cognition, endurance) exercise training intervention on measures of neuromuscular performance, cognition, and endurance as well as neural adaptations on a central and peripheral level is investigated. 40 subjects are recruited that are generally health and between 60 and 80 years of age. The interventions is based around exercises, where different tasks have to be solved simultaneously rather than serially, as has previously been done.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2022-07-13
• Study First Submitted: 2023-01-13
• Study First Submitted QC: 2023-02-03
• Study First Posted: 2023-02-14
• Primary Completion: 2023-12-15
• Study Completion: 2023-12-15
• Status Verified: 2025-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-03-31
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-03

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 48

Inclusion Criteria

• willing to be randomized to either arm
• ability to travel to the sports facility twice a week
• understanding the german language

Exclusion Criteria

• smoking, obesity
• history of cardiovascular, pulmonary or chronic inflammatory disease
• vision impairments
• orthopaedic problems preventing them from participating in an exercise program
• history of osteoporosis or recent low trauma fracture
• less than two weeks during the intervention period
• not have taken part in a structured exercise program more than once a week in the past three months

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Control	Exercise diary	Exercise guidelines and exercise diary.
Agility Training	Exercise recommendations	16 weeks, two times per week, 1 hour of multi-component exercise training, exercise guidelines and exercise diary.
Control	Exercise recommendations	Exercise guidelines and exercise diary.
Agility Training	Agility training	16 weeks, two times per week, 1 hour of multi-component exercise training, exercise guidelines and exercise diary.
Agility Training	Exercise diary	16 weeks, two times per week, 1 hour of multi-component exercise training, exercise guidelines and exercise diary.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Isometric knee-extension strength	16 weeks	Strength in torque (N\*m) of the quadriceps femoris muscle. Measured on an isokinetic device in an isometric condition.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cognitive Processing Speed	16 weeks	Eriksen flanker task performance measured be reaction speed in milliseconds and accuracy in percentage.
Balance Performance	16 weeks	Staying as stable as possible during ten seconds in tandem stance eyes open condition. Center of pressure sway path length in mm and average sway speed in m/s is calculated.
Isometric knee-flexion strength	16 weeks	Strength in torque (N\*m) of the hamstring muscle group measured on an isokinetic device in an isometric condition.
Cognitive Impulsiveness	16 weeks	Go / No-Go task performance measured by reaction speed in milliseconds and accuracy in percentage.
Pulse Wave Velocity	16 weeks	Estimated from a mobile blood pressure cuff (mobil-O-graph) on the right arm. Measured in m/s.
Retinal vessel diameter	16 weeks	A photo is made from the retinal vessels with a static vessel analyzer (camera)through the eye and the vessel diameters are measured in mikrometers.
Depression	16 weeks	15 item questionnaire (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 4.
Hand Grip Strength	16 weeks	Using a handheld dynamometer with an extended arm squeezing as hard as possible. Measured in N.
Blood Pressure	16 weeks	Blood pressure cuff on the right arm at the height of the aorta. Measured in mmHG.
Fall Efficacy	16 weeks	16 item qestionnaire (Fall Efficacy Scale). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 4.
Sleep Disturbances	16 weeks	7 item questionnaire (Insomnia Severity Index). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 5.
Stress	16 weeks	10 item qestionnaire (Perceived Stress Scale). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 5.
Counter movement jump power	16 weeks	Measured on a force plate participants are instructed to jump as high as possible with their hands akimbo. Peak of the time-power curve in Watts.
Quality of Life Questionnaire	16 weeks	26 item questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref). Every answer is rated on a scale from 1 to 5. Aggregate Score from 0 to 100.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Departement für Sport, Bewegung und Gesundheit; 🇨🇭 Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland