Effect of Neurofeedback Interactions and Mental Imagery on the Elderly’s Balance

Abstract

Objectives Balance maintenance is one of the indices of determining independence in older people. Identifying other factors that have considerable impact on the independence of older peoples is an in-teresting research topic. The present study aims at determining the effect of Neurofeedback and Mental Motor Imagery practices on balance in the elderly. Methods & Materials The population of this study consisted of elderly people of Mashhad, a city in north-east Iran. A total of 24 elderly people with age ranging from 60-82 years old volunteered to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to three groups (with eight participants in each group). The par-ticipants of experimental groups were involved in the special training (neurofeedback training and men-tal imagery practice) for eight weeks (with three sessions each week)while the control group were not involved in any practice. Stork Balance Stand Test and Timed Up and Go (TUG) tests were used to assess the static and dynamic balance of participants respectively, before and after the training sessions. The Shapiro–Wilk test of normality was used to check normality of data. Additionally, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to determine the effect of training with pre-test scores used as covariate. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS Statistics 21 at a=0.05. Results The results of Analysis of Covariance revealed that there was a significant effect of neurofeedback and mental imagery on the static and dynamic balance of elderly people (P<0.05). Furthermore, neuro-feedback had superior effect in both of the balance conditions (P<0.05). Conclusion The study recommends neurofeedback and mental motor imagery practices to prevent bal-ance loosing and improving balance ability in elderly people. Extended Abstract 1. Objectives ccording to the World Health Organiza-tion (WHO), population over 60 years old are considered as elderly and it is expected to rise by 10% in the year 2000 to 21.8% in 2050, and then an A increase of 32.2% in 2100 [1]. Entrance to the aging period coincides with the onset of changes in muscu-loskeletal systems, atria, sensory-bodily and vision, which is also referred to as a physiological system in the balance state. Consequently, elderly people are ex-posed to serious injuries caused by a violation of the balance. These changes are in the form that threatens the quality of life of this group of people to the extent that they are deprived of everyday activities [2]. There-Citation: Moshref-Razavi S, Sohrabi M, Sotoodeh MS. [Effect of Neurofeedback Interactions and Mental Imagery on the