BACKGROUND: Previous research has mainly targeted older people with high risk of falling. The effectiveness of exercise interventions in older people with mild levels of balance dysfunction remains unexplored. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a home balance and strength exercise intervention in older people systematically screened as having mild balance dysfunction. DESIGN: This was a community-based, randomized controlled trial with assessors blinded to group allocation. PARTICIPANTS: Study participants were older people who reported concerns about their balance but remained community ambulant (n=225). After a comprehensive balance assessment, those classified as having mild balance dysfunction (n=165) were randomized into the trial. INTERVENTION: Participants in the intervention group (n=83) received a6-month physical therapist-prescribed balance and strength home exercise program, based on the Otago Exercise Program and the Visual Health Information Balance and Vestibular Exercise Kit. Participants in the control group (n=82) continued with their usual activities. OUTCOME MEASURES: Laboratory and clinical measures of balance, mobility, and strength were assessed at baseline and at a 6-month reassessment. RESULTS: After 6 months, the intervention group (n=59) significantly improved relative to the control group (n=62) for: the Functional Reach Test (mean difference=2.95 cm, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.75 to 4.15), the Step Test (2.10 steps/15 seconds, 95% CI=1.17 to 3.02), hip abductor strength (0.02, 95% CI=0.01 to 0.03), and gait step width (2.17 cm, 95% CI=1.23 to 3.11). There were nonsignificant trends for improvement on most other measures. Fourteen participants in the intervention group (23.7%) achieved balance performance within the normative range following the exercise program, compared with 3 participants (4.8%) in the control group. LIMITATIONS: Loss to follow-up (26.6%) was slightly higher than in some similar studies but was unlikely to have biased the results. CONCLUSIONS: A physical therapist-prescribed home exercise program targeting balance and strength was effective in improving a number of balance and related outcomes in older people with mild balance impairment.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Previous research has mainly targeted older people with high risk of falling. The effectiveness of exercise interventions in older people with mild levels of balance dysfunction remains unexplored. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a home balance and strength exercise intervention in older people systematically screened as having mild balance dysfunction. DESIGN: This was a community-based, randomized controlled trial with assessors blinded to group allocation. PARTICIPANTS: Study participants were older people who reported concerns about their balance but remained community ambulant (n=225). After a comprehensive balance assessment, those classified as having mild balance dysfunction (n=165) were randomized into the trial. INTERVENTION: Participants in the intervention group (n=83) received a 6-month physical therapist-prescribed balance and strength home exercise program, based on the Otago Exercise Program and the Visual Health Information Balance and Vestibular Exercise Kit. Participants in the control group (n=82) continued with their usual activities. OUTCOME MEASURES: Laboratory and clinical measures of balance, mobility, and strength were assessed at baseline and at a 6-month reassessment. RESULTS: After 6 months, the intervention group (n=59) significantly improved relative to the control group (n=62) for: the Functional Reach Test (mean difference=2.95 cm, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.75 to 4.15), the Step Test (2.10 steps/15 seconds, 95% CI=1.17 to 3.02), hip abductor strength (0.02, 95% CI=0.01 to 0.03), and gait step width (2.17 cm, 95% CI=1.23 to 3.11). There were nonsignificant trends for improvement on most other measures. Fourteen participants in the intervention group (23.7%) achieved balance performance within the normative range following the exercise program, compared with 3 participants (4.8%) in the control group. LIMITATIONS: Loss to follow-up (26.6%) was slightly higher than in some similar studies but was unlikely to have biased the results. CONCLUSIONS: A physical therapist-prescribed home exercise program targeting balance and strength was effective in improving a number of balance and related outcomes in older people with mild balance impairment.
Authors: Ashley E Rosko; Sarah Wall; Robert Baiocchi; Don M Benson; Jonathan E Brammer; John C Byrd; Yvonne A Efebera; Kami Maddocks; Kerry A Rogers; Desiree Jones; Lara Sucheston-Campbell; Hancong Tang; Hatice Gulcin Ozer; Ying Huang; Christin E Burd; Michelle J Naughton Journal: J Natl Compr Canc Netw Date: 2021-03-26 Impact factor: 11.908
Authors: Marina B Pinheiro; Juliana S Oliveira; Jennifer N Baldwin; Leanne Hassett; Nathalia Costa; Heidi Gilchrist; Belinda Wang; Wing Kwok; Bruna S Albuquerque; Luiza R Pivotto; Ana Paula M C Carvalho-Silva; Sweekriti Sharma; Steven Gilbert; Adrian Bauman; Fiona C Bull; Juana Willumsen; Catherine Sherrington; Anne Tiedemann Journal: Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act Date: 2022-07-14 Impact factor: 8.915
Authors: Denise Kendrick; Arun Kumar; Hannah Carpenter; G A Rixt Zijlstra; Dawn A Skelton; Juliette R Cook; Zoe Stevens; Carolyn M Belcher; Deborah Haworth; Sheena J Gawler; Heather Gage; Tahir Masud; Ann Bowling; Mirilee Pearl; Richard W Morris; Steve Iliffe; Kim Delbaere Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2014-11-28
Authors: Renske Van Abbema; Mathieu De Greef; Celine Crajé; Wim Krijnen; Hans Hobbelen; Cees Van Der Schans Journal: BMC Geriatr Date: 2015-07-01 Impact factor: 3.921