Research out of the Mayo Clinic shows that wearing a simple weighted back support together with an exercise program protects older women from falls, improves the sense of balance and lessens back pain:
By wearing a unique weighted back support device and participating in a special exercise program, women over 60 with osteoporosis-caused curvature of the spine improved their balance and experienced diminished back pain, giving researchers at Mayo Clinic a promising therapy to reduce falls among this population...
Within four weeks in the study, the researchers noted significant changes in balance and gait. They also recorded back extensor strength improvements and significant decrease in back pain. Mayo Clinic researchers present their findings in the July 2005 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings...
At the start of the four-week comparison period, the two groups exhibited significant differences, but as the women with curvature of the spine continued the program, they showed improvements in balance, gait and back pain. The women used a weighted kypho-orthosis (WKO), a specially weighted back support device that centers its weight on the posterior of the spine and helps the person center her body better over her legs. It can weigh between 1.75 and 2.5 pounds, centered below the shoulder blades. A patient's doctor determines the best weighting and placement of the device.
The press release...
Mayo Clinic Proceedings website...
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/20...ed_back_s.html
07-06-2005, 11:46 PM
[medgadget] Weighted Back Support and Exercises Improve Balance, Decrease Risk of Falls in Older Women 
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