Advisor Information
Jennifer Yentes
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
3-3-2017 2:15 PM
End Date
3-3-2017 3:30 PM
Abstract
The main objective of this study is to investigate the changes of gait variability as a potential predictor of falls in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); while performing two attention demanding motor tasks at the same time on both even and uneven surfaces. Patients with COPD suffer from significant decreases in physical activity and deficits in their balance control. These patients are also at greater risk of falls than other older adults. These falls could lead to injury, hospitalization and even mortality in this population. For this purpose, in this study, the intrinsic changes of gait pattern in patients with COPD will be compared to healthy controls while doing two motor tasks at once. Walking on an uneven surface will be considered in addition to even surface as a challenging condition. As a complementary goal, the effect of training dual task behavior on improving locomotor performance will be investigated in these patients. To be more specific, the performance of trained patients with COPD will be compared to un-trained subjects. We hypothesize that performing motor- motor dual task (doing two motor tasks at once) may increase the risk of falling. Moreover; adapting to dual-task training may decrease the required concentration for doing the second additional task and prevent falling.
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Dual tasking and the effect of short term training on risk of falling in patients with COPD
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
The main objective of this study is to investigate the changes of gait variability as a potential predictor of falls in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); while performing two attention demanding motor tasks at the same time on both even and uneven surfaces. Patients with COPD suffer from significant decreases in physical activity and deficits in their balance control. These patients are also at greater risk of falls than other older adults. These falls could lead to injury, hospitalization and even mortality in this population. For this purpose, in this study, the intrinsic changes of gait pattern in patients with COPD will be compared to healthy controls while doing two motor tasks at once. Walking on an uneven surface will be considered in addition to even surface as a challenging condition. As a complementary goal, the effect of training dual task behavior on improving locomotor performance will be investigated in these patients. To be more specific, the performance of trained patients with COPD will be compared to un-trained subjects. We hypothesize that performing motor- motor dual task (doing two motor tasks at once) may increase the risk of falling. Moreover; adapting to dual-task training may decrease the required concentration for doing the second additional task and prevent falling.