Does GERAS DANCE improve gait in older adults?

Background: Older adults at increased fall risk walk slower with less rhythm and coordination. This study explored the effect of dance on spatiotemporal gait parameters in older adults. Methods: Participants ( N = 23) in a single-arm trial were enrolled in the 12-week GERAS DANCE program (total dose of 36 h). Gait was assessed at baseline and 12-weeks under two experimental conditions: normal walking or walking while performing serial subtraction by 3. Outcome measures were gait speed, stride length time, double support time, stride length and stride width. Separate two-way repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine estimates of the magnitude of effect of GERAS DANCE on spatiotemporal gait parameters and a paired t-test was used to examine differences in cognitive performance before and after dance. Results: Older adults (72.50 +/- 7.13 years; 75% female) had excellent attendance (82.73% adherence). GERAS DANCE resulted in increased gait speed ( p <0.001), reduced stride length time ( p = 0.034), reduced double support time ( p = 0.001), increased stride length ( p = 0.003) and marginally reduced stride width ( p = 0.064), regardless of the experimental condition. Improvements in walking performance were observed with sustained performance on the serial subtraction task before and after GERAS DANCE. Conclusions: GERAS DANCE may be a safe and feasible program to help improve spatiotemporal gait parameters in older adults with early memory or mobility impairments. Next steps include testing the efficacy for fall prevention to help inform clinical practice guidelines and virtual intervention implementation.