Somatosensory Stimulation of the Foot Versus Tai Chi to Improve Dynamic Balance in the Elderly

Introduction: Indonesia enters the aging population
period with an increasing prevalence of fall injuries.
One way to deal with this issue is to improve the balance
in the elderly. Two exercises that were recognized
improved balance in the elderly are somatosensory
stimulation of the foot and Tai Chi. But no one has
compared both exercises in improving the balance of
the elderly. This study aimed to compare somatosensory
stimulation of the foot and Tai Chi exercise in improving
dynamic balance in the elderly.
Methods: This research was an experimental study
with pre and post-test design. The population in this
study was all elderly at Griya Wreda Nursing Home,
Rungkut, Surabaya. The independent variables were
somatosensory stimulation of the foot and Tai Chi
exercise, while the dependent variable was dynamic
balance. There were two groups, group 1 (10 older people with somatosensory stimulation of the foot)
and group 2 (10 elderly with Tai Chi exercises). Both
interventions were given six sessions. The instrument
to measure dynamic balance was the time up and go
(TUG) test. Data analysis used the Mann-Whitney
test with a significance of 0.05.
Results: The Mann-Whitney test showed p=0.54
(p<0.05), indicating no significant difference in
increasing dynamic balance in the elderly between
somatosensory stimulation of the foot and Tai Chi
exercise groups.
Conclusion: Somatosensory stimulation of the foot is
as good as Tai Chi exercise in improving the dynamic
balance in the elderly. Further studies with a larger
sample size and randomized control trial design are
needed to enhance the evidence.

Keywords: Dynamic balance, elderly, somatosensory
stimulation of the foot, Tai Chi.