Najmeh Khakshour Moghadam, Fatemeh Rezaee, Behrouz Golmohammadi,
Volume 30, Issue 4 (1-2025)
Abstract
Background & Aim: Aging is often accompanied by a decline in cognitive and motor performance. Various interventions have been proposed to improve cognitive function and balance, with recent approaches focusing on cognitive-motor training methods. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of body percussion rhythmic exercises on the balance and cognitive flexibility of the elderly.
Methods & Materials: This clinical trial utilized a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The study population comprised healthy male seniors from a neighborhood hall, a center for the elderly in Kashmir, during 2022-2023. A total of 60 elderly men, aged 60 to 75 years, were purposefully selected and randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group, with each consisting of 30 participants. Data were collected using the Sharpened-Romberg test, the Timed Up and Go test, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. The intervention group participated in 36 sessions of rhythmic body percussion exercises based on the BAPNE method, while the control group continued with their regular daily activities. Data were analyzed using multivariate covariance analysis (MANCOVA) in SPSS version 19.
Results: The results showed that rhythmic body percussion exercises significantly enhanced static balance (F=232.31, ƞ2=0.83, P=0.004), dynamic balance (F=359.68, ƞ2=0.86, P=0.002), cognitive flexibility (the number of categories achieved) (F=11.45, ƞ2=0.16, P=0.001) and preservatives errors (F=108.77, ƞ 2=0.65, P=0.001) in the elderly.
Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that rhythmic body percussion exercises improve both balance and cognitive flexibility in the elderly. Therefore, these cognitive-motor exercises are recommended for the elderly population.
Clinical trial registry: IRCT20220704055369N1
