Effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation prior to walking on step time and trunk acceleration during the first five steps of walking initiation: a preliminary study in healthy adults.

Only 17 people took part, all healthy young adults with no walking or neurological problem. Nothing here was measured in patients, so no claim can be made about people with stroke, Parkinson's disease or a falls history. The paper itself calls this a preliminary study. Everything was measured in one session, and the authors state they could not show how many beats, or what quality of sound, is needed to reduce the variability. Because the sample was so small, the authors could not check whether men and women responded differently. Participants walked barefoot, indoors, for ten steps. Results may not carry over to shoes, to a real walking environment, or to longer walks. The authors note that older adults with age-related hearing loss or central auditory processing problems may need different sound intensity or frequency, so the settings used here may not suit the patients therapists most want to help.

The authors declare that they, their immediate families and any research foundation they are affiliated with have received no financial payments or other benefits from any commercial entity related to the subject of the article, and that no funding was received for this work.

Do not read this as evidence that rhythmic cueing improves walking stability or reduces falls in patients. The 17 participants were healthy young adults with no walking problem, they walked barefoot indoors for ten steps, and the study measured step-to-step variability, not falls.