The Fall Prevention Clinic at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital sees patients over the age of 65 who have problems with balance and dizziness. In autumn 2016, the Fall Prevention Clinic started using Treax Pads in training with geriatric patients, after having searched quite some time for a technological tool that could supplement their training. Treax Pads offered many of the things that the Fall Prevention Clinic was looking for, and they decided to test the pads in their patients’ training. The patients who trained with Treax Pads responded very positively, which made Durita Gunnarsson from the Fall Prevention Clinic decide to initiate a project testing the effect of Treax Pads on the balance problems of older patients. The patients stated that Treax Pads gave them more motivation to train.

”Treax Pads inspire a playful approach to training, and this can help patients do the movements and exercises they would otherwise try to avoid because of dizziness and unstable balance,” says Durita Gunnarsson.

These positive responses prompted Durita Gunnarsson to initiate the project, that would investigate whether patients who use Treax Pads experience more progress than patients who train with other tools. The hypothesis was that Treax Pads would motivate patients and make them focus less on their anxiety.

In order to investigate this, Durita Gunnarsson and her colleagues needed to find 30-40 older people who had problems with balance or dizziness. They participated in a training programme adjusted to their specific problems. The exercises would, however, still be standardized enough, so that tendencies would be visible in the results.

It can be difficult for Durita Gunnarsson and her colleagues to keep their patients motivated during training. But with Treax Pads they find that it is easier to stay focused.

”It makes more sense for them to train with Treax Pads. Their focus moves from fear of falling, to the playful and meaningful exercise they are about to do,” says Durita Gunnarsson.