The Effect of Indoor Rock Climbing With and Without Environmental Affordances on Balance and Fear of Falling In Older Men

Document Type : Original article

Authors

1 Department of Behaviour and Cognitive in Sports, Faculty of Alborz Campus, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sports Sciences, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

10.32598/SJRM.13.6.3273

Abstract

Background and Aims Impaired balance and fear of falling in older adults can disrupt their daily activities and reduce their quality of life. Therefore, it is of great importance to use up-to-date and attractive exercises such as rock climbing in order to improve their balance and reduce the fear of falling. This study aims to investigate the effect of indoor rock climbing with and without environmental affordances on balance and fear of falling in older men.
Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 36 older men aged 60-75, who were randomly divided into three groups of 12 people, including two experimental groups who performed indoor rock climbing with and without environmental affordances (educational and motivational instructions of the trainer, feedback, guidance, etc.) for eight weeks at two 40-minute sessions per week, and one control group who did not receive any training and performed routine daily activities. Three groups completed the berg balance scale (BBS) and fall efficacy scale-international (FES-I) in two pre-test and post-test phases. Paired t-test was used to examine within-group differences and the analysis of covariance was used for between-group comparisons.
Results Indoor rock climbing with and without affordances caused a significant increase in the BBS score (P<0.001) and a decrease in the FES-I score (P<0.001) in the post-test phase compared to the pre-test phase. Also, the BBS score of the group with affordances was significantly higher than that of the group without affordances (P=0.012), while the FES-I score in the group with affordances was lower than in the group without affordances (P=0.033). Also, the BBS and FES-I scores in the control group were lower and higher than in the experimental groups, respectively (P<0.001).
Conclusion Indoor rock climbing, with and without environmental affordances, can significantly increase balance and reduce the fear of falling in older men. These two techniques can be used to improve the balance and individual independence of older men.

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The Scientific Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
Volume 13, Issue 6
March and April 2025
Pages 1108-1121

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History

  • Receive Date: 27 May 2024
  • Revise Date: 21 July 2024
  • Accept Date: 29 July 2024
  • First Publish Date: 29 July 2024

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