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Vibratory Stimulation to Improve Balance Recovery

NCT05702801 · Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 60

Last updated 2023-02-09

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Falls are the primary cause of traumatic injury in older adults, and tripping is the leading cause of falls. A robust method for improving aging-related proprioceptive deficits is lacking, while strong evidence shows that proprioception deficits are highly associated with poor balance recovery from tripping. Previous research suggested that stochastic vibratory stimulation (SVS) can influence proprioception (i.e., muscle spindle function) among healthy controls; however, it is not clear how older adults with deficits in muscle spindle function would react to SVS. In previous work the investigators showed promising findings of standing balance and timed-up-and-go (TUG) improvements using SVS among high fall risk older adults with history of fall 15-18. They will implement SVS in the current project to improve aging-related proprioceptive deficits. The hypothesis is that SVS improves muscle spindle function and balance recovery from tripping in older adults with proprioceptive deficits.

Conditions

  • Fall
  • Fall Injury

Interventions

DEVICE

Stochastic Vibratory Stimulation (SVS)

Investigators implement stochastic vibratory stimulation (SVS) to alter proprioceptive performance by increasing excitement of type Ia afferents in muscle spindles. Based on previous preliminary data, vibration frequencies around 40Hz may provide adequate noise for enhancing aging-related proprioceptive deficits. To make a subsensory noise investigators set it to 90% of the sensory threshold amplitude, which has been effectively used previously for influencing mechanoreceptor sensation in older adults. Stimulation will be imposed bilaterally on: 1) distal ankle (tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, soleus, gastrocnemius); and 2) proximal hip (quadriceps, gluteus medius, and paraspinals). Investigators use Gaussian noise to reduce the anticipative and preemptive adjustments of muscle spindles to the vibration. For SVS investigators use a magnetic actuator system and a Universal Controller (C-2HDLF Tactor/TDK), to provide programmable frequency ranges.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

    collaborator OTHER

  • University of Arizona

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-09-20
Primary Completion
2025-09-01
Completion
2026-09-01

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05702801 on ClinicalTrials.gov