“Balance-MoTraX” - Balance Modules and Transfer across Contexts
Science Meets Exercise: New Approaches to Fall Prevention in Older Adults
Project has not yet started — open to funding
Falls among older adults are a health issue of great societal importance. The project addresses the unique challenges of an aging population and develops innovative, scientifically grounded approaches to fall prevention.
What It's All About
Science Meets Exercise: New Approaches to Fall Prevention in Older Adults
As people age, the risk of falls, injuries, and the loss of mobility and independence increases. Balance-MoTraX develops scientifically based training programs for older adults. The target is to prepare older adults for as many different fall scenarios as possible.
The foundation is a neuromechanical approach based on the premise that the nervous system does not activate muscles individually, but rather activates multiple muscles in a coordinated manner. The coordinated activation of multiple muscles forms a “movement building block,” such as for stabilizing the body or initiating a lunge. These “movement building blocks” are referred to as motor modules. The combination of multiple motor modules results in the overall movement. Our immense repertoire of movements is achieved through the selection and weighting of various motor modules.
This project investigates which motor modules are used across different situations during various fall-mitigation movements. The central hypothesis is: If motor modules are specifically trained across different situations, the improvements achieved can be transferred to various fall scenarios. Based on this, practical fall prevention programs tailored for older adults will be developed.
Our Goal
The Balance-MoTraX project has as its target the development of a novel scientific approach to fall prevention in older adults and thereby contributes to addressing a key health challenge facing our aging society.
The long-term target is to develop a scientifically sound and practical training program that helps older adults better absorb the impact of falls, reduce the risk of injury, and maintain mobility, independence, and quality of life for as long as possible.
Further Information
A high-resolution 3D motion capture system is available for recording recovery movements. This is supplemented by force plates integrated into the treadmill for determining ground reaction forces (forces between the foot and the ground) as well as an electromyography system for measuring muscle activity. The available equipment thus provides optimal conditions for identifying motor modules and developing scientifically sound training approaches for fall prevention in older adults.
The combination of established research infrastructure, methodological expertise, and existing preliminary work creates excellent conditions for the successful and efficient implementation of the research project.
Facts and Figures
Project Duration:
Planned for 2 years. Has not yet begun.
Total funding:
€120,000
Funding Sources:
Open to funding sources
KIT Project Leaders:
Dr. Michael Herzog, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Stein, BioMotion Center, Institute of Sports and Sports Science (IfSS)
Funding Sources/Existing Grants:
The M-Gait treadmill was funded as part of a major equipment grant application to the German Research Foundation (DFG). The collection of data from the young participants was funded as part of the KARE project, an internal KIT HealthTec grant.
“Falls among older adults jeopardize mobility, independence, and quality of life. With Balance-MoTraX, we are developing scientifically grounded training programs that prepare older adults not only for specific situations but also for the wide variety of unexpected situations that can lead to falls.”
- Michael Herzog, IfSS -
