Influence on balance in community-dwelling elderly and old people

Purpose: To determine the influence of the application of virtual reality (through console gaming platform) on balance in community-dwelling elderly and old people. Material and Methods: Ten people with an average age of 80.6 years ± 7,25, two men and eight women, most of them with length of stay less than 1 year have been monitored. The total point of Berg Balance Scale (to measure balance by assessing functional tasks) have been reported. The whole study group has been performing console Xbox 360 platform for commercial video games with a standard display technology - "Skiing", "Box", "Shootout", "Dance". Administered 5 days a week for four weeks for a duration of 20 to 40 minutes. Results: Significant improvement in total points of Berg Balance Scale is observed and the risk of falling is decreased from moderate to low. Conclusion: An intervention using commercial video games may influence the balance reactions and risk of falling in community-dwelling elderly and old people. Keywords: community-dwelling elderly and old people, balance, risk of fallin