Effect of Wuqinxi on the Balance Ability of Older Women With a History of Falls: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The Wuqinxi exercise regimen was conducted under the guidance of a professional Wuqinxi instructor, where the experimental group practiced the five animal forms of the exercise, which include the Tiger, Deer, Bear, Ape, and Bird forms. The exercise period was 24 weeks, with the first 4 weeks designated as the learning phase and weeks 5 to 24 as the consolidation and reinforcement phase. The frequency of exercise was three times per week, with each session lasting 70 minutes, including 10 minutes for warm-up and relaxation activities. Participants practiced to fixed voice prompts and musical rhythms, completing four full sets of Wuqinxi movements, each set taking approximately 14 minutes with a 1-minute interval in between. Following the research design of Cheng et al, after completing each set of movements, participants immediately pressed on the radial artery to test the pulse beats for 10 seconds and reported their heart rate per minute to the experimenters. The exercise intensity was controlled within the range of (220 - age) x (55% to 65%). Participants were allowed to take a break if their heart rate was too high. Additionally, without changing their original lifestyle habits, weekly follow-ups were conducted by the experimenters via telephone or face-to-face interviews to ensure that the participants did not engage in other forms of regular fitness activities.

Compliance with the exercise regimen was managed through the following methods: regular supervision, with professional staff overseeing the training to ensure participants followed the set plan; completion of training logs, requiring participants to record detailed information about each training session, including content, duration, and intensity; and regular follow-ups, maintaining contact with participants through phone calls, WeChat, or face-to-face meetings to understand their training status and provide necessary support.

The balance ability tests were conducted on three occasions: at baseline, at the 12th week, and at the 24th week. The Good Balance balance testing device, manufactured in Finland, was used for all participants, which has been demonstrated to have good reliability and validity. Both static and dynamic balance tests were conducted with participants standing on the test platform using a stopwatch to measure the time that participants could stand on one leg with eyes open and closed.