Motor imagery of walking and walking while talking: a pilot randomized-controlled trial protocol for older adults

Over a third of community-residing elderly have clinical gait abnormalities, and gait impairment is associated with morbidity, mortality and dementia. Motor imagery – envisioning motor actions without actual execution – has been used to improve gait in Parkinson's disease and poststroke, but the efficacy of motor imagery in healthy elderly is unknown. This single-blind pilot randomized-controlled trial aims to establish feasibility and explore the efficacy of a 3-month, telephone-based motor imagery intervention – that involves imagined walking, imagined talking and imagined walking while talking for improving gait in 48 healthy elderly. The primary outcomes will be gait speed during actual walking and walking while talking. Secondary outcomes will include cognitive performance during actual talking and walking while talking, and functional neuroplasticity during imagined walking and walking while talking. This clinical trial has been registered on clinicaltrials.gov (identifier NCT02762604).