Improving Anticipatory and Compensatory Postural Responses to Avoid Falls After TBI

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess a balance training program to see if it can be helpful to avoid falls in people who have had traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

The study will include 3 groups: TBI Intervention group , TBI Control Group, and healthy control group.

TBI Intervention group - These individuals will participate in 16 anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) and compensatory postural adjustments (CPA) training sessions using the Neurocom Balance Platform. Each session will last for 1 hour. During the APA portion, participants will be provided with a visual cue on the front screen in the form of a countdown timer showing the remaining seconds to the onset of the upcoming perturbation. This information will allow an opportunity for the participant to adjust their posture to handle the upcoming perturbation in the best possible way and also train them to anticipate upcoming disturbances and execute corrective motor outputs. In CPA, after a 5 second pause, the platform will oscillate at 1 Hz, with a constant amplitude, in the anterior-posterior direction for 50 seconds, followed by an additional 5 second quiet period. The participant will wear a safety harness at all times and a spotter will be present at all times.

TBI Control Group- They do not receive any intervention. healthy control group- They do not receive any intervention.

All three groups will participate in two data collection sessions: Baseline and follow-up.

At baseline and follow-up, we will collect functional, clinical, biomechanical, and physiological metrics.

During training and data collection, a spotter will be present at all times to prevent falls and participants will be allowed as much rest as needed by them..

Conditions

• Traumatic Brain Injury

Interventions

DEVICE

Perturbation-based Training with visual cues using Neurocom

Participants will participate in 16 anticipatory postural adjustments (APA) and compensatory postural adjustments (CPA) training sessions using the Neurocom Balance Platform. Each session will last for 1 hour. During the APA portion, a visual cue on the front screen in the form of a countdown timer showing the remaining seconds to the onset of the upcoming perturbation. This information will allow an opportunity for the participant to adjust their posture to handle the upcoming perturbation in the best possible way and also train them to anticipate upcoming disturbances and execute corrective motor outputs. This will ensure the generation of APA in a consistent and repetitive manner. In CPA, after a 5 second pause, the platform will oscillate at 1 Hz, with a constant amplitude, in the anterior-posterior direction for 50 seconds, followed by an additional 5 second quiet period. The participant will wear a safety harness at all times and a spotter will be present at all times.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kessler Foundation

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

70 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-06-26

Primary Completion

2024-12-31

Completion

2024-12-31

FDA Device

Yes

Countries

• United States

Study Locations