The effects of head rotation exercise on postural balance, muscle strength, and gait in older women.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of resistive exercise (RE) with head rotation exercise (RE+HRE) on postural balance, lower limb muscle strength, and gait in older women. This study was conducted from December 7, 2015 to January 29, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea. Forty older women were recruited at welfare center and randomly allocated to RE+HRE (n = 20) or RE (n = 20) groups. The RE+HRE group performed RE+HRE for 60 min twice per week for 6 weeks, using an elastic band with variable resistance along the length. The HRE included horizontal or vertical head movement during the exercise. The RE group performed RE in a similar manner, but without head movements. The outcome measures were static postural balance (one-leg stance test, functional reach test, and postural sway), dynamic postural balance (timed up and go test, four square step test, and Mini-balance evaluation systems test), lower limb muscle strength (sit-to-stand test), and temporal gait parameters. In the RE+HRE group, all variables were significantly improved compared to baseline (p < .05), and postural balance and gait were significantly improved compared to those in the RE group (p < .05). These findings suggest that RE+HRE can improve dynamic postural balance, gait speed, and cadence in older women.