Acute effects of home-based square stepping exercise on balance and walking speed in young adults

• Main Author: Oh, Ivan Teng Fong
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Science::Biological sciences::Human anatomy and physiology::Neurobiology
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/144875
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Balance and gait are key components of locomotion, with varying abilities in individuals of different age groups and physical activity levels. Training for balance and gait has several perspectives, of rehabilitation and reduction of lower-extremity injuries in younger populations and as a risk factor for older adults for trips and falls. The aim of this study was to analyse and compare the possible effects of a square stepping regimen against a conventional method of exercise. 18 participants were made to execute two different exercise regimens over the course of two weeks, with one group starting with a square stepping programme and the other with a low-intensity aerobic programme, then had their balance and gait assessed. Measurements were compared with the repeated-measures ANOVA of the following dependent variables: time taken to walk, time elapsed before loss of balance. No significant differences were observed for the results of either exercise regimens. Findings do not indicate if either regimen was more effective at improving balance or gait speeds.