Taekwondo Poomsae practise in slow motion and the balance of healthy older adults: A Pre-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Poor balance confidence and functional balance can lead to falls in community-dwelling older adults. Exercises utilising slow movements have been shown to improve balance in this population. It is hypothesised that by superimposing the use of slow movements onto Taekwondo Poomsae, there could be similar benefits in improving balance confidence and functional balance in older adults. METHODS: This was a pre - experimental study. Fifteen community-dwelling older adults received 11 weeks of Slow Poomsae (SP) training using a proposed 50-min protocol. Pre- and post-intervention scores of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Simplified Scale (ABC-S), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Dynamic Gait Index (DGI), and 'Timed Up and Go' test (TUG) assessments were recorded and compared. RESULTS: Fifteen eligible participants with mean and standard deviation (SD) of age 73.8 (6.05) years completed the study. Significant improvements (p < 0.05) were seen in the pre-post differences between ABC-S, BBS, DGI, and TUG, with median score changes of 15 points (Z = -3.408), 3 points (Z = -3.306), 3 points (Z = -2.852), and 3.5 s (Z = -3.296) respectively. CONCLUSION: The preliminary findings support the efficacy of SP as a potential balance training programme that is safe for healthy older adults to improve their balance confidence and functional balance. More research is required on this topic that leans towards a large population blinded randomised controlled trial with a longer intervention period and inclusion of a follow-up to further elucidate the effects of long-term practice and novelty of SP.

Higher variability in cervical force perception in people with neck pain.

BACKGROUND: A reduced capacity to generate and sustain cervical muscle force over a range of contraction intensities is a feature of some participants with neck pain. To date there have been no studies comparing the accuracy of force perception in participants with and without neck pain. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. METHODS: Participants with (n = 25) and without (n = 25) neck pain performed isometric muscle contractions at three progressive self-perceived (no feedback provided) intensities (10, 25, 50) % of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) in cervical: flexion, extension, right and left lateral flexion. Absolute error (AE), constant error (CE), and variable error (VE) between actual and targeted force values were calculated. RESULTS: The neck pain group had: (1) AE-combined direction -significantly higher at 10% and lower at 50% (p < 0.05); (2) significantly lower CE in most measures (p < 0.05); (3) higher mean VE in all measures, with 10, 25, and 50% combined direction and overall combined % extension significantly higher (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate higher variability in force generation perception across all directions and intensities in participants with neck pain compared to healthy controls. Potentially this greater variability might suggest impaired force sense, a construct of proprioception in participants with neck pain. Reduced force sense may have implications for participants with neck pain during functional activities requiring precision and may need to be trained. Further research is required.