Effects of a dance intervention on single and dual-task gait in community-dwelling older adults: a randomised controlled trial protocol

Purpose To establish a protocol of dance choreographies in order to determine how the regular practice of dance interferes with gait (habitual and dual-task) of community-dwelling older adults. Materials and methods This single-blinded parallel group randomised controlled trial will include 114 older adults divided into a dance group (DG) that will receive dancing intervention twice a week for 12 weeks, and a control group (CG) that will receive no intervention during the same period of time. The gait parameters of all participants will be evaluated in 3 moments: an initial evaluation, a re-evaluation after 12 weeks and a follow-up re-evaluation after 24 weeks. General linear model adjusted for confounding variables will be performed to compare the gait variables between groups. The intent to treat method will be applied. The study was registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) through the number RBR-4zqcyr. Results It is expected that the DG presents better gait parameters than does CG after the dance, and that these benefits are retained for three months after the intervention. Conclusion Once the benefits of dance therapy for gait are identified, the dance protocol could be useful for strategies of health promotion and rehabilitation of older adults.