• Bettina Wollesen, Claudia Voelcker-Rehage, Jasmin Willer, Astrid Zech, and Klaus Mattes.
• Department of Human Movement Science, University Hamburg, Mollerstr.2, 20148, Hamburg, Germany, bettina.wollesen@uni-hamburg.de.
• Aging Clin Exp Res. 2015 Aug 1; 27 (4): 447-55.

IntroductionDual task (DT) training is becoming prominent in fall prevention. However, DT training should include task-managing strategies like task switching or task prioritization to be beneficial to improve gait performance under DT conditions. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the effect of a task managing training on gait stability.MethodsA DT training (12 sessions; 60 min each; 12 weeks) was compared to a non-training control group within a RCT (38 independent living participants; 72.7 ± 4.7 years). Single Task (ST) and DT walking (visual verbal Stroop task) were measured on a treadmill (FDM-T, 3.5 km/h, 100 HZ). Gait parameters like step length, step width, gait line, maximum forces and gait variability were compared.ResultsThe training group improved their gait performance under ST and DT conditions as revealed by significant group × time interaction effects.Discussion And ConclusionsThe training successfully improved gait performance and therefore might be a promising approach to prevent falls. Additional fall prevention studies should focus on motor-cognitive performance and reinforce outcomes of task managing strategies.

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