An interventional study of Reactive balance training and Walking in Accidental Falls, sponsored by Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Recruiting at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 65 Years to 80 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-29.
Sponsored by Toronto Rehabilitation Institute · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
Falls in daily life are a serious risk for older adults. A new type of balance training, called reactive balance training (RBT) involves people losing balance many times so that they can practice fast balance reactions, like stepping reactions. Differences in training program features might explain differences in the results of previous RBT studies. Training intensity is the difficulty or challenge of the training program. It would be valuable to know if high-intensity RBT improves balance reactions quickly. The main goal of this study is to see if more intense RBT improves balance reactions faster than less intense RBT. The investigators will compare how quickly people improve balance reactions between high- and moderate-intensity RBT, and between RBT and a control program that does not include RBT. The investigators will also test if the improvements in balance reactions last after the training program is over. The secondary goals are to understand exactly how balance reactions improve with training, and to determine if people who complete RBT improve their general balance skills, and falls efficacy more than people who do not complete RBT.
Toronto Rehabilitation Institute is the lead sponsor of 39 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will complete 5 1-hour training sessions over 11 days. During each training session, participants will complete 36 multi-directional (left-, right-, and forward-fall) perturbations. Participants assigned to high-intensity RBT will experience perturbations at 150% of the multi-step threshold; for example, for a multi-step threshold of 2 m/s\^2 the high intensity perturbation will be 3 m/s\^2.
Behavioral: Reactive balance training
Participants will complete 5 1-hour training sessions over 11 days. During each training session, participants will complete 36 multi-directional (left-, right-, and forward-fall) perturbations. Participants assigned to moderate-intensity RBT will experience perturbations at 100% of the multi-step threshold; for example, for a multi-step threshold of 2 m/s\^2 the high intensity perturbation will be 2 m/s\^2.
Behavioral: Reactive balance training
Participants assigned to the walking control group will complete 36 trials of unperturbed walking in each training session.
Behavioral: Walking
Reactive balance training involves clients experiencing repeated balance perturbations so that they can practice and improve control of reactions to avoid falling after a loss of balance.
Also known as: Perturbation-based balance training
Overground walking
Number of reactive steps
Learning rate for number of steps to recover from 'backward fall' balance perturbations
Time frame: Two weeks
Step initiation time
Time from perturbation onset time to foot off time
Time frame: One week and 12 weeks post-training
Step execution time
Time from foot off to foot contact of the first step
Time frame: One week and 12 weeks post-training
Step length
Difference in foot position from foot off to foot contact
Time frame: One week and 12 weeks post-training
Braking impulse
Antero-posterior shear force generated over time on step contact
Time frame: One week and 12 weeks post-training
Mechanical margin of stability
Distance between the extrapolated centre of mass (incorporating centre of mass position and velocity) and the edge of the base of support
Time frame: One week and 12 weeks post-training
Balance evaluation systems test
Scale ranges from 0-100, with higher scores indicating better outcome
Time frame: One week and 12 weeks post-training
Falls efficacy scale - International
Scale range: 10-100; higher values indicate worse outcome
Time frame: One week, 12 weeks, and 12 months post-training
Fall incidence
Falls in daily life
Time frame: 12 months post-training
Injurious fall incidence
Time frame: 12-months post-training
5-level EuroQoL health status measure (EQ-5D-5L)
Scale range for descriptive component: 5-25, higher values indicate worse outcome; Scale range for visual analogue scale: 0-100, higher values indicate better outcome
Time frame: One week, 12 weeks, and 12 months post-training
Number of participants with fear of falling
Time frame: One week, 12 weeks, and 12 months post-training
Number of participants with activity curtailment due to fear of falling
Time frame: One week, 12 weeks, and 12 months post-training
Plan to share: No
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Toronto Rehabilitation Institute