The elderly suffer from ___1___. A third of people over 65 fall at least once a year. Half of those fall more frequently. Exercise can help, especially when they exercise to this [sound of piano]. That’s right, the elderly ___2___ when they exercise to piano music. The research was published online in the Archives of Internal Medicine. [Andrea Trombetti et al., Effect of Music-Based Multitask Training on Gait, Balance, and Fall Risk in Elderly People]
Scientists in Switzerland recruited 134 adults—average age about 75. For six months, half took a weekly hour-long class that focused on balance. They worked out to the piano, changing movements in response to changes in the beat.The exercises got progressively more difficult. The other group ___3___ for six months.
Then the two groups ___4___. Those who worked out to tunes improved their gait and had longer and more stable strides. Overall, the first music-exercising group experienced half as many falls as the control group. But when the control group started striding to songs six months in, they gained the same benefits. Ninety-six percent of the participants exercising to the ___5___ of the piano were women. So it remains to be seen if piano music can help men stay upright too.
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