"Effectiveness Of The Alexander Technique And The Feldenkrais Technique For Improving The Body Balance In Older Adults: A Comparative Study"
Patel Dhara Bipinbhai, NITTE Institute Of Physiotherapy, Mangalore, Karnataka.
BACKGROUND: The balance is the important factor which will help the individual to perform the ADL without any problem. The literature review suggested that any type of balance exercises in the older adults will help the individuals to improve the balance and reduces the fall. There are studies available which says Feldenkrais methods of exercises and Alexander methods of exercises will improve the balance in older adults, but there is no study available which says which technique of exercises, i.e. Feldenkrais technique or Alexander techniques, are effective to improve the balance in older adults. By keeping this fact in view present study aims at evaluating the efficacy of Feldenkrais technique and Alexander technique for improving the balance in the older adults.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of the Alexander technique and the Feldenkrais technique for improving the body balance in older adults.
METHODOLOGY: After satisfying inclusion criteria the individuals were randomly selected and assigned to either of three groups, group I, who received the Alexander methods of exercises, group II, who receives the Feldenkrais methods of exercises & group III, who receives only the conventional balance exercises to improve the balance. Each group was consisting 15 individuals and received treatment 5 days in a week for one month. The balance was assessed before starting the treatment and after one month by using Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Functional Reach Test (FRT) in sitting and standing & Time Up and Go Test (TUG).
RESULTS: Mann Whitney U test & Wilcoxon Signed Rank test were the statistical tools used to evaluating the results. At the end of one month all the groups shows significant improvement in the balance. In comparison with other group, the Feldenkrais methods of exercises show better improvement than Alexander methods of exercises and conventional methods of exercises.
CONCLUSION: All the groups showed improvement at the end of intervention. The study showed that all the groups have improvement in the balance after one month of intervention, but comparatively group II, who received Feldenkrias methods of exercises on balance shows better improvement than the Alexander methods of exercises and conventional balance exercises.
KEY WORDS: Balance, Feldenkrais technique, Alexander technique, Berg Balance Scale, Time Up and Go test, Functional Reach Test, Older Adults
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