Vibratory Stimulation to Improve Balance Recovery

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.

Inclusion Criteria:age 65 years or olderthe ability to understand study instructions.Exclusion Criteria:disorders associated with severe motor and balance deficits, including stroke, Parkinson's disease, severe arthritis, lower-extremity amputation, spinal cord pathologies (e.g., spinal stenosis), and diabeteshistory of severe vestibular disorder such as bilateral vestibular hypofunction or poorly-compensated unilateral vestibular hypofunction, or Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI) > 40central nervous diseasecognitive impairment (MoCA score<20)vision problems including cataract, presbyopia, and similar problems that can influence balancesedating medication or alcohol consumption within 24 hours.