Abstract
Schmid AA, Van Puymbroeck M, Koceja DM. Effect of a 12-week yoga intervention on fear
of falling and balance in older adults: a pilot study.
Objective
To determine whether fear of falling (FoF) and balance improved after a 12-week yoga
intervention among older adults.
Design
A 12-week yoga intervention single-armed pilot study.
Setting
A retirement community in a medium-sized university town in the Midwest.
Participants
A convenience sample of adults (N=14) over the age of 65 years who all endorsed an
FoF.
Intervention
Each participant took part in a biweekly 12-week yoga intervention. The yoga sessions
included both physical postures and breathing exercises. Postures were completed in
sitting and standing positions.
Main Outcome Measures
We measured FoF with the Illinois FoF Measure and balance with the Berg Balance Scale.
Upper- and lower-body flexibility were measured with the back scratch test and chair
sit and reach test, respectively.
Results
FoF decreased by 6%, static balance increased by 4% (P=.045), and lower-body flexibility increased by 34%.
Conclusions
The results indicate that yoga may be a promising intervention to manage FoF and improve
balance, thereby reducing fall risk for older adults. Rehabilitation therapists may
wish to explore yoga as a modality for balance and falls programming; however, future
research is needed to confirm the use of yoga in such programming.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
BBS (Berg Balance Scale), FoF (fear of falling), LB (lower body), UB (upper body)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Footnotes
Supported by the Indiana University School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation Faculty Sponsored Research Program and the Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service (grant nos. CDA-2 , D6174W ).
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.
Identification
Copyright
© 2010 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
