The aim of this study was to compare the effects of three types of balance
training: single task, dual task under fixed priority instructional set (Fp) and dual
task under a variable priority instructional set (Vp) on the balance of the elderly.
The participants were 36 elderly over 65 years old from Kerman province who
were randomly divided into three groups (each 12 subjects) based on Burg pretest
scores. The groups included single task, dual task under fixed priority and dual
task under variable priority. Experimental groups received 45 minutes of training
session, 3 sessions a week for 4 weeks. For data analysis, ANCOVA and
Bonferroni post hoc test were used at (P≤0.05). The results showed that a
significant difference between single task and dual task under fixed priority groups
and also between single task and dual task under variable priority (P=0.008 and
P=0.000 respectively). There was no significant difference between dual task under
fixed priority and variable priority groups (P=0.149). In addition, the results in
Tug test under dual task condition showed a significant difference between single
task and dual task under fixed priority groups and also between single task and
dual task under variable priority groups and also between dual task under fixed
and variable priority groups (P=0.035, P=0.033, P=0.000 respectively). The
results showed that single and dual task balance training improved balance
performance in the elderly but those who had training under dual task
outperformed under single and dual task conditions.