Effects of a fall prevention exercise regimen on physical and psychosocial outcomes in elderly community dwellers: a randomized comparative study

ABSTRACT

Background

There is a need for comprehensive programs that address both the physical and psychosocial aspects of fall prevention for the elderly.

Objective

This study assessed the efficacy of the exercise regimen on various health metrics for elderly community dwellers.

Methods

Forty-four participants were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group adhered to a 9-step core exercise regimen for fall prevention, practicing three times a week for 30 minutes across 10 weeks, while the control group maintained their regular daily activities without any specific exercise program. Before and after the intervention, participants underwent the timed up-and-go t est to evaluate the physical function, the berg balance scale (BBS) and one-legged stance test (OLST) for balance assessment, the activity-specific balance confidence scale for fall-related self-efficacy, and measures for health-related quality of life.

Results

Participants in the experimental group showed significant improvements in physical function (p = .04, Cohen’s effect size (d) = 0.2). and balance ability on BBS (p < .01, d = 0.2) and OLST (p < .01, d = 1.3) compared to the control group. Furthermore, there was a notable enhancement in the quality of life indicators for this group, especially in areas such as physical function (p = .04, d = 0.2), physical-role limitation (p = .04, d = 0.2), mental health (p = .01, d = 0.3), vitality (p = .02, d = 0.4), body pain (p = .04, d = 0.5), and general health (p = .04, d = 0.4).

Conclusion

These findings highlight the potential of the fall prevention exercise program in improving physical health aspects, but its influence on specific psychosocial elements remains to be determined.

KEYWORDS:

• Elderly
• exercise program
• physical function
• quality of life
• fall prevention

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the contribution of all the subjects who participated in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.