Background: Falls remain a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality. It is suggested that backward\r\nwalking (BW) may offer some benefits especially in balance and motor control ability beyond those experienced\r\nthrough forward walking (FW), and may be a potential intervention for prevention of falls. The objective of this\r\nstudy was to investigate the effects of BW on balance in boys.\r\nMethods: Sixteen healthy boys (age: 7.19 �± 0.40 y) were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control\r\ngroup. The experimental group participated in a BW training program (12-week, 2 times weekly, and 25-min each\r\ntime) but not the control group. Both groups had five dynamic balance assessments with a Biodex Stability System\r\n(anterior/posterior, medial/lateral, and overall balance index) before, during and after the training (week- 0, 4, 8, 12,\r\n24). Six control and six experimental boys participated in a study comparing kinematics of lower limbs between\r\nFW and BW after the training (week-12).\r\nResults: The balance of experimental group was better than that of control group after 8 weeks of training (P <\r\n0.01), and was still better than that of control group (P < 0.05), when the BW training program had finished for 12\r\nweeks. The kinematic analysis indicated that there was no difference between control and experimental groups in\r\nthe kinematics of both FW and BW gaits after the BW training (P > 0.05). Compared to FW, the duration of stance\r\nphase of BW tended to be longer, while the swing phase, stride length, walking speed, and moving ranges of the\r\nthigh, calf and foot of BW decreased (P < 0.01).\r\nConclusion: Backward walking training in school-aged boys can improve balance.
Loading....