Functional mobility and balance in community-dwelling elderly submitted to multisensory versus strength exercises

It is well documented that aging impairs balance and functional mobility. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of multisensory versus strength exercises on these parameters. We performed a simple blinded randomized controlled trial with 46 community-dwelling elderly allocated to strength ([GST], N = 23, 70.2-years-old +/- 4.8 years) or multisensory ([GMS], N = 23, 68.8-years-old +/- 5.9 years) exercises twice a week for 12 weeks. Subjects were evaluated by blinded raters using the timed 'up and go' test (TUG), the Guralnik test battery, and a force platform. By the end of the treatment, the GMS group showed a significant improvement in TUG (9.1 +/- 1.9 seconds (s) to 8.0 +/- 1.0 s, P = 0.002); Guralnik test battery (10.6 +/- 1.2 to 11.3 +/- 0.8 P = 0.009); lateromedial (6.1 +/- 11.7 cm to 3.1 +/- 1.6 cm, P = 0.02) and anteroposterior displacement (4.7 +/- 4.2 cm to 3.4 +/- 1.0 cm, P = 0.03), which were not observed in the GST group. These results reproduce previous findings in the literature and mean that the stimulus to sensibility results in better achievements for the control of balance and dynamic activities. Multisensory exercises were shown to be more efficacious than strength exercises to improve functional mobility.