Optimal Intensity of Reactive Balance Training for Healthy Older Adults
- Accidental Falls
At a glance
- Phase
- Phase not stated
- Study type
- Interventional
- Sponsor
- Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
- Enrolment target
- 96
- Started
- 21 January 2025
- Main results due
- 1 March 2027
- Study sites
- 1
- Registry updated
- 29 September 2026
Can you take part?
- Ages 65 years to 80 years.
- Open to any sex.
- Healthy volunteers can take part.
These are the headline rules only. Every study has a longer list, and whether you are eligible is decided by the research team at the site — never by this page.
Read the full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Community-dwelling older adults (65-80 years old) Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to stand independently without upper-limb support for \>30 seconds and/or walk independently (without a gait aid) for ≥10 metres; * Diagnosed neurological condition that could affect balance control (e.g., stroke, Parkinson's disease); * Score below normative values on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment; * Score below age-matched normative values for sensory and motor function, as assessed using the FallScreen battery; * Have insufficient English language comprehension such that they cannot understand instructions; * Have contraindications to reactive balance training such as severe osteoporosis; and/or * Are currently attending physiotherapy or supervised exercise.
What this study is about
In the sponsor’s own words, from the registry.
Falls in daily life are a serious risk for older adults. A new type of balance training, called reactive balance training (RBT) involves people losing balance many times so that they can practice fast balance reactions, like stepping reactions. Differences in training program features might explain differences in the results of previous RBT studies. Training intensity is the difficulty or challenge of the training program. It would be valuable to know if high-intensity RBT improves balance reactions quickly. The main goal of this study is to see if more intense RBT improves balance reactions faster than less intense RBT. The investigators will compare how quickly people improve balance reactions between high- and moderate-intensity RBT, and between RBT and a control program that does not include RBT. The investigators will also test if the improvements in balance reactions last after the training program is over. The secondary goals are to understand exactly how balance reactions improve with training, and to determine if people who complete RBT improve their general balance skills, and falls efficacy more than people who do not complete RBT.
Study sites(1)
University Health Network
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Recruiting
Showing 1 of 1 sites. 1 of the 1 site on this study is recruiting right now — a site can stop enrolling while the study as a whole is still open.
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT06657989. Trialion does not run this study, is not paid to refer anyone to it, and cannot enrol you. Eligibility is always decided by the research team at the site.
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