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Abstract

Background: ‪Exercise programmes consisting of stepping were found to significantly reduce incidence of falls in the elderly. The aim of this case study was to evaluate the feasibility of step counts and to identify a specific dose, i.e. the amount and intensity of stepping during a multicomponent balance specific exercise programme. Material and methods: ‪Thirty fit community-dwelling older adults (69.7 ±6.2 years) participated in the study. The number of steps and the intensity of stepping per training unit was recorded with StepWatch pedometers. Results: ‪The average recorded number of steps per one-hour training unit was 1100 ±215. The intensity level of the activity was on average high for 43.6 ±16.6% of the unit time and moderate for 45.9 ±14.2% of the unit time, whereas only 9.9% ±3.9 of the unit time was in the low level range. Conclusions: ‪The use of pedometers, i.e. step counts, is feasible to monitor the intensity of the training as well as the volume and progression if needed for the balance specific exercise programmes. Additionally, this case study demonstrates that balance specific exercise programme can be organised in the way to facilitate balance by means of volitional and reactive stepping.

DOI

10.29359/BJHPA.10.4.07

Author ORCID Identifier

Darja Rugelj https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4680-1703

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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