Reducing Risk of Falling in Older People Discharged From Hospital: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Seated Exercises, Weight-Bearing Exercises, and Social Visits
Presented to the Australia New Zealand Society for Geriatric Medicine, September 9, 2008, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
Vogler CM, Sherrington C, Ogle SJ, Lord SR. Reducing risk of falling in older people discharged from hospital: a randomized controlled trial comparing seated exercises, weight-bearing exercises, and social visits.
Objective
To compare the efficacy of seated exercises and weight-bearing (WB) exercises with social visits on fall risk factors in older people recently discharged from hospital.
Design
Twelve-week randomized, controlled trial.
Setting
Home-based exercises.
Participants
Subjects (N=180) aged 65 and older, recently discharged from hospital.
Interventions
Seated exercises (n=60), WB exercises (n=60), and social visits (n=60).
Main Outcome Measures
Primary outcome factors were Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) fall risk score, and balance while standing (Coordinated Stability and Maximal Balance Range tests). Secondary outcomes included the component parts of the PPA and other physical and psychosocial measures.
Results
Subjects were tested at baseline and at completion of the intervention period. After 12 weeks of interventions, subjects in the WB exercise group had significantly better performance than the social visit group on the following: PPA score (P=.048), Coordinated Stability (P<.001), Maximal Balance Range (P=.019); body sway on floor with eyes closed (P=.017); and finger-press reaction time (P=.007) tests. The seated exercise group performed better than the social visit group in PPA score (P=.019) but for no other outcome factor. The seated exercise group had the highest rate of musculoskeletal soreness.
Conclusions
In older people recently discharged from the hospital, both exercise programs reduced fall risk score in older people. The WB exercises led to additional beneficial impacts for controlled leaning, reaction time, and caused less musculoskeletal soreness than the seated exercises.
aDepartment of Aged Care and Rehabilitation, Royal North Shore Hospital, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
bGeorge Institute for International Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
cPrince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Reprint requests to Constance Vogler, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, Dept of Aged Care and Rehabilitation, Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, Australia
Supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council Prevention of Older People's Injuries Partnership in Injury; Good Age Trust; and the Geoff and Elaine Penney Research Trust at Royal North Shore Hospital.
Sponsors had no role in the study design, recruitment, data collection, analysis, or preparation of this article.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry Number: ACTRN12605000335695.
ABSTRACT