REHABILITATION OF ELDERLY FALLERS - PILOT-STUDY OF A LOW TO MODERATE INTENSITY EXERCISE PROGRAM

Objective: The role of exercise in the prevention of falls and fall-re lated injuries among elderly persons is unclear. The objective of this study was to assess the response to an exercise-based rehabilitation program intended to Improve balance and mobility and reduce or prevent Tails. Design: Pretest-posttest experimental design with repeated mea sures al baseline. immediately postintervention, and 6 months postinte rvention. To assess the effect of repeated exposure to our main outcom e measure (tile obstacle course). half of thr participants (randomly s elected) were allowed to practice on the obstacle course. Setting: A v eterans affairs medical center. Participants: Elderly, ambulatory, com munity-dwelling volunteers recruited from among local outpatients at o ur medical center. Intervention: Sixty-five volunteers completed a 6-w eek supervised low to moderate intensity program of stretching. postur al control, endurance walking. and coordination exercises designed to improve balance and mobility. Participants were divided into 2 groups: 34 participants Mho did not practice on the obstacle course during th eir exercise program and 31 participants who practiced on tile obstacl e course in addition to their otherwise identical exercise program.Mai n Outcome Measures: Performance on a functionally oriented obstacle co urse and self-reported falls and fall-related injuries. Results: No si gnificant performance differences were found between the two groups. A fter intervention mean qualitative obstacle course scores improved mod estly (5%) and mean obstacle course completion time decreased by 15% f rom baseline. These postintervention pairwise performance differences were clinically important but not statistically significant. Relative to baseline levels. postintervention falls and injuries did not change significantly. Conclusions: Our exercise intervention may have the po tential to improve functional performance. However, some modifications are necessary to enhance efficacy. The obstacle course may be a usefu l tool in the evaluation of elderly persons with balance and mobility impairment in the rehabilitation setting.