Abstract
The aim of the study was to analyse literature sources dealing with the influence of walking on postural stability in the elderly. A systematic survey was made in the electronic databases Web of Science, PEDro, Scopus, PubMed, Medline and EBSCO, including articles published in 2010 - 2020 that included various gate interventions in a healthy elderly population, the effect of which was assessed by postural stability using posturographic systems.
Only eight articles containing eight experiments met the inclusion criteria. The studies used simple walking, walking up stairs, walking on a treadmill, Nordic walking, walking on a slackline, walking in combination with Tai Chi Chuan and walking in special footwear.
The review provides new evidence on the potential use and influence of different types of gait on postural stability in the elderly, but points to the great variability and inconsistency of conclusion for gait dosing with respect to the effect on overall stability in the elderly. The authors point out the need for further research, which should be carried out as high-quality clinical research, which will lead to the examination of the most effective methods and procedures with regard to walking as the most natural human movement and demonstrate other possibilities of influencing the postural stability of seniors into practise in the spirit of evidence-based medicine.