Effects of eight weeks fall proof home-based exercises on balance, quality of life and fear of falling in elderly: A randomized clinical trial

Aging is an irreversible biological process that has become a major challenge for societies and humans in today's world. The aim of this study was to investigated the effect of an eight-week fall proof home-based exercises on balance, quality of life and fear of falling in elderly.

twenty-six elderly people over 60 years old with age average (70.275.25 years) participated in this study voluntarily and were randomly divided into control and fall proof exercise (FPE) groups (n=13 in each group). FPE group performed home-based exercises for eight weeks, 3 sessions per week and 60 minutes per session. The control group had a normal life routine during this period. Static and dynamic balance, fear of falling and quality of life were assessed respectively with 4 stage static balance test and timed up and go test, Falls Efficacy Scale-International Questionnaire (FES-I) and Older People’s Quality of Life Questionnaire (OPQOL-35). Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software version 22. (p<0.05)

The results of post-intervention statistical analysis showed that static (p=0.003) and dynamic (p=0.006) balance, quality of life (p=0.03) and fear of falling (p=0.012) in the FPE had a significant improvement over the control group.

According to the results, eight-week of fall proof home-based exercises has a positive and significant effect on balance and postural control, quality of life and fear of falling of the elderly. Therefore, it is recommended to use this method and exercise program to increase empowerment and prevent falls in the elderly.