Event:

The age-related physical and cognitive decline increases the risk for severe bicycle accidents in older adults and warrants effective training interventions to improve safe cycling skills. This study investigates potential transfer effects of a perturbation-based, hands-free bicycling training program on cycling skills and overall balance control in older adults.
BiPerAge is a bicentric project (Duration: 2024-2027), combining the expertise in cycling interventions of the Department of Physical Therapy, Ben-Gurion University Israel and the Institute for Biomedicine of Ageing, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. Community-dwelling participants aged 65 and older trained 20 times (20 min per session) over a period of three months on a stationary bicycle system, with (=PerTSBR) or without (=TSBR) perturbation. Before and after the training period, they completed a standardized outdoor cycling course, consisting of varying tasks related to real-life traffic situations. Errors in the cycling course (T1-T0) are the primary outcome measure. Further, overall physical performance (e.g. SPPB) and standing and dynamic balance control (e.g. mBESS, FSST, 2MWT) were assessed.
In this presentation, results for the cycling course, physical performance and balance control will be discussed and evaluated in the context of cycling interventions for older adults.