TITLE:
Effects of a Drums Alive® Intervention versus Hand-Foot Coordination Training on Motor, Cognitive and Motivational Parameters in Seniors
AUTHORS:
Carrie Ekins, Peter R. Wright, Guenter Schlee, Dean Owens
KEYWORDS:
Motivation, Cognition, Physicality, Quality of Life
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.11 No.3,
May
31,
2022
ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to compare
the effects of two different interventions on the physiological,
cognitive, and motivational parameters in seniors; and, how they would be
accepted as alternative forms of exercise in the senior population. The
facilitators recruited 26 randomly selected participants from two senior care facilities in Chemnitz, Germany who
were required to complete two 45-minute exercise periods a week for 30
days. The first group completed the Drums Alive intervention which included a
multi-dimensional approach using music, movement, drumming choreographies,
games, and activities. The second intervention group completed a series of
Hand-Foot Coordination exercises that used beat-keeping patterns on various parts of the body. Each
intervention group had three divisions of participants, i.e. “healthy” to define those with no
diagnosed malady, “dementia” for those with varying degrees
of diagnosed dementia, and, “wheelchair” and those requiring a
wheelchair for movement. The pre- and post-testing measurements consisted of age, heart rate, blood pressure, rate
of perceived exertion (RPE), bar-drop test, chair-raise test, 6-minute walk
test, memory, concentration, balance, reaction, coordination, and cognitive
flexibility. In addition, to measure the level of motivation, i.e. fun, the participants used a tool
that was developed by the Psychology Department of the Chemnitz University. The
results demonstrated that both interventions were suitable alternates for
senior-focused conventional sports offerings, however, the Drums Alive
intervention outperformed the Hand-Foot Coordination intervention in a majority
of the measured domains by an overall average of 9.45 percent. Of note, the
data, vis a vis motivation, demonstrated a 38.4 percent increase for Drums
Alive vice a 13.3 percent increase for Hand-Foot Coordination, suggesting the
Drums Alive intervention offered more effective protocols that could inspire
seniors to make this a part of an overall health and wellness plan to improve
their quality of life.