Effect of Mental Practice Combined with Physical Practice on Balance in the Community-Dwelling Elderly

Objectives. This study is designed to test the effects of a 6-week trial of mental practice of motor imagery (MP) on balance and gait in community-dwelling elderly. Methods. Six elderly females were recruited from a community-assisted living center and randomly assigned 2 groups. The experimental group received 20 minutes of mental practice of motor imagery, while the control group received 20 minutes of health education, before assembling together for 20 minutes of physical exercise. The study lasted for 6 weeks, 12 intervention sessions, with each intervention session lasting for 1 hour. Pretest-Posttest outcome measures included the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG), and Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC). Results. Compliance was excellent. Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks test for the TUG were significant (Z = 2.2, p = .02) for increases in gait speed for the group as a whole. Improvements were measured in dynamic measures of balance on the BBS, but all outcome measures were not statistically significant at the .05 level for either the mental practice or education group. A net trend towards decline in balance confidence was observed. Discussion. Movement efficiency as measured by gait speed, improves after a short trial of physical practice, regardless of mental practice involvement. Posttest declines in balance confidence may imply increased body awareness and realistic awareness of functional deficits. Conclusion. Further research is warranted to determine the effect of MP on balance in this population. Longer interventions, further validation of mental imagery for this population and quantification of tests of balance are recommended. (C) 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.