Combining Stochastic Resonance Vibration With Exergaming for Motor-Cognitive Training in Long-Term Care; A Sham-Control Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Eling D de Bruin; Heiner Baur; Yvonne Brülhart; Eefje Luijckx; Timo Hinrichs; Slavko Rogan

doi:10.3389/fmed.2020.507155

Combining Stochastic Resonance Vibration With Exergaming for Motor-Cognitive Training in Long-Term Care; A Sham-Control Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Nov 30:7:507155. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.507155. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Eling D de Bruin^{1

2}, Heiner Baur³, Yvonne Brülhart³, Eefje Luijckx³, Timo Hinrichs⁴, Slavko Rogan³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Institute of Human Movement Sciences and Sport, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
² Division of Physiotherapy, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
³ Department of Health Professions, Bern University of Applied Sciences, Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Division of Sports and Exercise Medicine, Department of Sport, Exercise and Health, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

Purpose: Physical and mental functions allow classifying older adults as "Go-Go" (independent functioning); "Slow-Go" (in need of care with a slight handicap); and "No-Go" (in need of care with severe functional limitation). The latter group exhibits reduced exercise tolerance. More recently technology-based motor-cognitive types of training services emerged as a possible training service. This study examined the use of technology including stochastic resonance whole-body vibration and Exergame-dance training for motor-cognitive training in care home dwelling adults. Methods: Seventeen older adults (10 women, 7 men, age range: 79-98) were randomly assigned to the intervention (IG, n = 9) or the sham group (SG, n = 8). IG performed five sets of 1-min whole-body vibration with 1-min rest in between, three times a week for the first 4 weeks of the training period with varying frequency. From weeks five to eight the Exergame-dance training was conducted after the vibration sessions. SG performed a stochastic resonance whole-body vibration training with the same terms applied, however, with a fixed frequency of 1 Hz, Noise 1. From weeks five to eight a passive trampoline-programme of 5 min was applied following the vibration sessions. Primary outcome was the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Secondary outcomes were the Trail Making Test A and B (TMT A & B) and the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). Outcomes were measured at baseline, after 4 and 8 weeks of intervention and at follow-up (4 weeks after the intervention). The non-parametric Puri and Sen rank-order test was applied, followed by an ANOVA for repeated measures to analyse main and interaction effects. Mann-Whitney U-Test was used to determine differences between the groups. Results: The post-hoc analysis showed significant effects on the SPPB total score with large effect sizes from baseline to 8 weeks (+72%, p = 0.005, η² = 0.423). The TMT part B displayed significant improvements with large effect sizes from baseline to 8 weeks (+17.5%, p = 0.002, η² = 0.779) and to follow-up (+21%, p = 0.001, η² = 0.827). Conclusion: The technology based 8-week training programme consisting of a combination of stochastic resonance whole-body vibration and Exergame-dance training showed beneficial effects on both physical and cognitive performance in older care home dwelling adults.

Keywords: aging; executive functions; exergame; frail adults; long term care; motor-cognitive training; physical performance; whole-body vibration.