The Fall Prevention Clinic’s project with Treax Pads

This autumn, the Fall Prevention Clinic at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital found that Treax Pads gave extra training motivation to their patients. Therefore, they now are conducting a randomised study using the pads, starting in October this year. 

The Fall Prevention Clinic at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital sees patients over the age of 65 who have problems with balance and dizziness. In autumn 2016, the Fall Prevention Clinic and VihTek (Knowledge Center For Aid and Welfare technology in the Capital Region of Danmark)

started using Treax Pads in training with geriatric patients, after having searched quite some time for a technological tool that could supplement their training. Treax Pads offered many of the things that the Fall Prevention Clinic was looking for, and they decided therefore to test the pads in their patients’ training. The patients who trained with Treax Pads responded very positively, which made Durita Gunnarsson from the Fall Prevention Clinic decide to initiate a project testing the effect of Treax Pads on the balance problems of older patients. The patients stated last autumn that Treax Pads gave them more motivation to train.

”Treax Pads inspire a playful approach to training, and this can help patients do the movements and exercises they would otherwise try to avoid because of dizziness and unstable balance,” says Durita Gunnarsson. 

The project starts this autumn

These positive responses prompted Durita Gunnarsson and VihTek to initiate the project, that will investigate whether patients who use Treax Pads experience more progress than patients who train with other tools. The hypothesis is that Treax Pads will motivate patients and make them focus less on their anxiety.

In order to investigate this, Durita Gunnarsson and her colleagues need to find 30-40 older people who have problems with balance or dizziness. They will participate in a training programme adjusted to their specific problems. The exercises will, however, still be standardised enough, so that tendencies will be visible in the results.   

Treax Pads give motivation

It can be difficult for Durita Gunnarsson and her colleagues to keep their patients motivated during training. But with Treax Pads they find that it is easier to stay focused.

”It makes more sense for them to train with Treax Pads. Their focus moves from fear of falling, to the playful and meaningful exercise they are about to do,” says Durita Gunnarsson.

Still in the planning phase

The results of the project will be measured as the patients’ balance while walking. Here the Fall Prevention Clinic and VihTek will, among other things,  test the patient’s ability to walk while they, at the same time, look up, down and to the side. 

Durita Gunnarsson has not yet completed the training plan, so she can’t say exactly which exercises will be used. 

The project is still in the planning phase, and Durita Gunnarsson expects to launch it in October 2017. The Fall Prevention Clinic and VihTec expects to spend all of 2018 on the project.

You can already read about the Fall Prevention Clinic’s experiences with Treax Pads up until now, in a brand new report: https://www.regionh.dk/vihtek/research/publikationer/Documents/VTV%20Treax%20Pads%20samlet%20rapport.pdfYou c
You can also read the Fall Clinic and VihTek Implementation Guide: https://www.regionh.dk/vihtek/research/publikationer/Documents/Treax%20Pads%20implementeringsguide.pdf