Best-Practice Exercise Interventions to Prevent Falls in Older Adults (original) (raw)
Related papers
Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 2021
Introduction: A growing trend in medicine is older adults and increased need for geriatric services. Falls contribute heavily to hospitalizations and worsening of overall health in this frail demographic. There are numerous biological and physical culprits which, if targeted, can prevent falls. The objective was to review benefits of different types of exercises for fall prevention for older persons who are communitydwelling or living in long-term care facilities. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to determine the different types of exercises for fall prevention. Data extraction via a standardized protocol was performed to assess study design, outcomes, limitations, and author's conclusions. Corroborative themes were identified and the authors responsible for the contributing research were cited as they came up. Nineteen randomized controlled trials were identified, between 1990 and 2018, using MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases. Studies involving adults greater than age 60 in high-risk community or nursing home populations in the English language with a duration longer than or equal to 6 weeks with focuses on either lowrisk balance, strength, or combination of both and wholebody vibration. Results: Balance exercise training increased balance at 6 and 12-month intervals involving balance, strength, and cognitive training. Discussion: Insignificant results were seen in whole-body vibration and differing results existed for Tai Chi. It is important to recognize that although exercises help reduce the risk of falling and play a significant role in improving mobility safely, there will always be a risk of falls.
Preventing falls among older adults: no "one size suits all" intervention strategy
Journal of rehabilitation research and development, 2008
Physical activity (exercise) serves primary, secondary, and tertiary roles in the prevention of falls among older adults. In its primary role, physical activity can prevent the onset of pathology and system impairments that lead to disability and increased risk for falls. Slowing the progression of disease and system impairments is its secondary role, while its tertiary role lies in the restoration of function to a level that allows for more autonomy in the performance of essential activities of daily living. Whether used as a stand-alone strategy or a core component of a multifactorial intervention approach, exercise constitutes an effective means by which to reduce fall risk and/or fall incidence rates. At low levels of risk, many exercise choices are available to older adults. As the level of risk increases, however, more tailored and progressive exercise programs that target the physical risk factors associated with falls are more effective in lowering fall risk. Adopting a mult...
New South Wales Public Health Bulletin, 2011
This systematic review update includes 54 randomised controlled trials and confirms that exercise as a single intervention can prevent falls (pooled rate ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.77-0.91). Metaregression revealed programs that included balance training, contained a higher dose of exercise and did not include walking training to have the greatest effect on reducing falls. We therefore recommend that exercise for falls prevention should provide a moderate or high challenge to balance and be undertaken for at least 2 hours per week on an ongoing basis. Additionally, we recommend that: falls prevention exercise should target both the general community and those at high risk for falls; exercise may be undertaken in a group or home-based setting; strength and walking training may be included in addition to balance training but high risk individuals should not be prescribed brisk walking programs; and other health-related risk factors should also be addressed.
BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2012
To determine whether a lifestyle integrated approach to balance and strength training is effective in reducing the rate of falls in older, high risk people living at home. Three arm, randomised parallel trial; assessments at baseline and after six and 12 months. Randomisation done by computer generated random blocks, stratified by sex and fall history and concealed by an independent secure website. Residents in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Participants aged 70 years or older who had two or more falls or one injurious fall in past 12 months, recruited from Veteran's Affairs databases and general practice databases. Exclusion criteria were moderate to severe cognitive problems, inability to ambulate independently, neurological conditions that severely influenced gait and mobility, resident in a nursing home or hostel, or any unstable or terminal illness that would affect ability to do exercises. Three home based interventions: Lifestyle integrated Functional Exercise (LiFE) app...
2021
The Finnish population is rapidly aging. It is estimated that by 2050 the number of Finnish citizens over 65 years old will represent about 30% of the whole population. Aging is related to a progressive decrease in overall physiological component including muscle strength. Moreover, this loss of lower extremities strength is considered to lead to a higher risk of falls among elderly. The rate of falls, fall-related injuries, and fall-associated costs continue to increase along with the rise of the aging population. Community-based fall prevention interventions for the elderly are surging, in an attempt to address this health burden. Prevention strategies vary widely in their aim, ranging from single intervention program to comprehensive multifactorial strategies among groups of community-dwelling elderly adults. The purpose of this Bachelor thesis was to develop an evidence-based training program for elderly with focus on balance. The main research question of this thesis was “How a Multicomponent Physical Exercise Program (MPEP) can affect fall-related physical performance including balance, muscle strength and gait in older people?” The aim of this study was also to raise awareness about the existence of fall among elderly in the community of Satakunta, and the potential positive impact that physical activity can have in order to prevent these events. In addition, the whole project can function as a beneficial tool for the authors of this thesis in their future working life as physiotherapist. Seven community living residents of the Satakunta region in Finland (mean age = 68 years old) with specific fall risk factors (i.e., fear of falling, history of falls or impaired gait or balance) were assigned to a 10 weeks group exercise program (n=20). The 60-minutes exercise sessions were held twice a week, Monday and Friday from 8th of June to 17th August 2020 focused on increasing strength and balance. The outcome measurements included three physical performance tests, namely: the Timed up and Go Test, the 30 Seconds Chair Stand Test and the 4 Stage Balance Test. The aim was to assess Gait Speed, Strength and Balance among the participants. Exercisers showed postintervention improvement in measurements of gait speed by 16,1%, lower limb strength by 19,6% and static balance by 23%. The authors realized that a MPEP can affect fall-related physical performance such as strength in lower limb and balance with this sample of people. The data collected do also reinforce the notion that a MPEP is a safe and effective way to increase physiological components such muscle strength in this population. This study provided an effective, evidence-based falls prevention program that can be implemented in community settings to improve physical fitness and might reduce fall risks among this sample group
Practical implementation of an exercise-based falls prevention programme
Muscle weakness and impaired balance are risk factors underlying many falls and fall injuries experienced by older people. Fall prevention strategies have included exercise programmes that lower the risk of falling by improving strength and balance. We have developed an individually tailored, home-based, strength and balance retraining programme, which has proven successful in reducing falls and moderate fall injuries in people aged 80 years and older. Here we describe a simple assessment of strength and balance and the content and delivery of a falls prevention exercise programme.
Physical activity programs for balance and fall prevention in elderly
Medicine
Background: Due to demographic changes the world's population is progressively ageing. The physiological decay of the elderly adult may lead to a reduction in the ability to balance and an increased risk of falls becoming an important issue among the elderly. In order to counteract the decay in the ability to balance, physical activity has been proven to be effective. The aim of this study is to systematically review the scientific literature in order to identify physical activity programs able to increase balance in the elderly. Methods: This review is based on the data from Medline-NLM, Pubmed, ScienceDirect, and SPORTDiscuss and includes randomized control trials that have analyzed balance and physical activity in healthy elderly over 65 years of age during the last decade. A final number of 8 manuscripts were included in the qualitative synthesis, which comprised 200 elderly with a mean age of 75.1 ± 4.4 years. The sample size of the studies varied from 9 to 61 and the intervention periods from 8 to 32 weeks. Results: Eight articles were considered eligible and included in the quantitative synthesis. The articles investigated the effects of resistance and aerobic exercise, balance training, T-bow© and wobble board training, aerobic step and stability ball training, adapted physical activity and Wii Fit training on balance outcomes. Balance measures of the studies showed improvements between 16% and 42% compared to baseline assessments. Conclusions: Balance is a multifactorial quality that can be effectively increased by different exercise training means. It is fundamental to promote physical activity in the aging adult, being that a negative effect on balance performance has been seen in the no-intervention control groups.