Three days of beam walking practice improves dynamic balance control regardless of the use of haptic anchors in older adults.

Balance deficits during walking increase the risk of falls in older adults. Providing haptic information through anchors improves dynamic balance control, but the benefits of practicing with anchors during walking need to be evaluated. We investigated the effect of practice with haptic anchors in the beam walking task in older adults.

Trunk balance control during beam walking improves with the haptic anchors without the interference of an auditory-cognitive task in older adults.

Background: Prior studies have shown that older adults reduced trunk acceleration when walking on a balance beam with haptic inputs provided by anchors; however, it is unknown whether these benefits would remain in the presence of a concurrent cognitive task.

Research Question: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a cognitive task on balance control when using the anchors while walking on a balance beam in older adults.

Methods: Thirty older adults participated in this study.