Vibratory Stimulation to Improve Balance Recovery

Part of paid clinical trials in Newark, New Jersey.

Sponsor
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Study ID
NCT05702801
Status
Recruiting
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Conditions

  • Fall
  • Fall Injury

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
65 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Stochastic Vibratory Stimulation (SVS) — DEVICE
    Investigators implement stochastic vibratory stimulation (SVS) to alter proprioceptive performance by increasing excitement of type Ia afferents in muscle spindles. Based on previous preliminary data, vibration frequencies around 40Hz may provide adequate noise for enhancing aging-related proprioceptive deficits. To make a subsensory noise investigators set it to 90% of the sensory threshold amplitude, which has been effectively used previously for influencing mechanoreceptor sensation in older adults. Stimulation will be imposed bilaterally on: 1) distal ankle (tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, soleus, gastrocnemius); and 2) proximal hip (quadriceps, gluteus medius, and paraspinals). Investigators use Gaussian noise to reduce the anticipative and preemptive adjustments of muscle spindles to the vibration. For SVS investigators use a magnetic actuator system and a Universal Controller (C-2HDLF Tactor/TDK), to provide programmable frequency ranges.

Study Details

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.

Key Dates

First listed
Jan 27, 2023
Start date
May 1, 2024
Status verified
Jul 2026
Primary completion
Sep 1, 2028
Completion
Sep 1, 2029

Study Design

Enrollment
60 participants (estimated)
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION

Arms

  • Experimental: Exposure to stochastic vibratory stimulation
    All participants will be exposed to vibratory stimulations at different levels of 0Hz, 40Hz, and 80Hz.

Primary Outcome Measure

Balance recovery outcomes [ Time Frame: Baseline for with and without SVS conditions ]

Central Contacts

Locations (1)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
Rutgers, State University of New JerseyNewarkNew Jersey07107
Nima Toosizadeh, PhD
[email protected]
520-444-5265

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By research site
Rutgers, State University of New Jersey· Newark, NJ

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