Task-based training improved balance measures, but fewer falls remain unproven
A review in older adults favored practicing functional tasks over conventional training for balance and walking measures; evidence on actual falls remained inconclusive.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Task-oriented training improved balance, walking speed and balance-confidence scores more than conventional training in the pooled results. Evidence of fewer actual falls remained inconclusive, as did results on a separate functional gait assessment. The fear-of-falling result reached statistical significance, but the authors considered it uncertain.
This abstract-based explanation lacks follow-up durations, participant totals and confidence intervals. It cannot establish whether better movement-test scores translated into fewer falls during everyday life.
What researchers found
Berg Balance Scale mean difference
Task-oriented training versus conventional training; higher scores favor task-oriented training for balance. Assessment timing was not reported. This score does not measure actual falls.
What participants practiced
Task-oriented training focuses on practicing functional activities with a goal. The review compared this approach with conventional training across balance, mobility and confidence measures, alongside outcomes concerning fear of falling and actual falls.
Clinical meaning in a subgroup
In participants aged ≥75, improvements in balance, timed mobility and walking speed reached thresholds the authors considered clinically meaningful. This subgroup result does not establish whether treatment effects differed between age groups.
The original publication
Effects of task-oriented training on balance, gait, and fall in older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Zhang W, Zhang W, Zu G et al.
Aging Clin Exp Res · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41566097
- Record checked
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