Improving balance control in older persons through martial arts: A scoping review protocol

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION@#Martial arts, other than Tai chi, are now being integrated into exercise programs to improve the balance control of older adults. This scoping review aims to describe the extent, range, and nature of available literature on martial arts use to improve balance control in older adults. @*METHODS AND ANALYSIS@#This scoping review will adhere to the steps described in the Arksey and O’Malley framework. Studies on martial arts use, aside from Tai chi, in improving balance in older adults are eligible. Only experimental studies written in English will be included. Literature search on published articles from inception to February 2021 will be conducted in ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Medline, and ProQuest. Grey literature search will be implemented in Google Scholar, Pro-Quest Dissertations and Theses Open, University of Santo Tomas Library. Handsearching for additional articles from reference lists of included studies will also be performed. Data on author and year of publication, country, study design, target population, type of martial art, exercise protocol, balance outcome measures used, and main findings will be extracted from the included studies.@*ETHICS AND DESSIMINATION@#This protocol describes the rigorous process that will be implemented to map the breadth of existing literature on martial arts use in improving the balance control of older adults. Ethical approval is not required because only information from publicly accessible sources will be collected. Review findings will be disseminated through publications and presentations in local and international conferences and shared with relevant agencies and societies.@*SCOPING REVIEW REGISTRATION@#This protocol was registered in Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io/vez68.