物理医学与康复国际期刊
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Improving Compliance and Effectiveness in Fall’s Prevention, using a Dynamic Balance Training Platform: A Randomized Control Trial-A Feasibility Study

Eleftheria Antoniadou1,2*, John Lakoumentas3, Elias Panagiotopoulos4, Peter Zampakis5

Background: Falls and their consequences are a huge burden for older women living in the community as they are the main cause of loss of autonomy and disability. The most effective intervention to address the problem is based on exercises that target balance. Older women experience falls and the consequences of them more often. It is proven that the best way to adress this problem is with regular and targeted exercise. This is a protocol that investigates the effectiveneess and the compliance of an exercise protocol in a dynamic platform to adress balance disorders. The protocol has been proven to be both effective and have a good compliance, wich makes it an excellent alternative to classical exercise regimens.

Aim: The aim of the study was to analyse the effectiveness and the compliance of a dynamic platform-based protocols, where not much is known, in targeting falls, in older women living in the community.

Design: This was a randomized control trial.

Setting: An outpatient Balance Rehabilitation Clinic in a tertiary University Hospital.

Population: Results from 20 women all of them potential fallers, 10 in the intervention group and 10 in the control group (no intervention), were analyzed.

Methods: Older women with balance disorders were screened for balance disorders with the the mCTSIB test of the dynamic platform, if positive further evaluation was performed with the miniBEST and SPPB test. Based on the miniBEST (less than 18), the women were placed randomly in the intervention or control group. The intervention group completed 36 sessions three times per week for 30 min. The control group did not receive any intervention.

Results: Dynamic platform exercise programs were proven to be effective (mini-BEST, p<0.006; mCTSIB, p<0.02; SPPB, p<0.02) in balance rehabilitation and therefore fall prevention. The results also show that good compliance was achieved with a p<0.001, and the % of patients that adhered to the protocol was up to 96%.

Conclusions: We can conclude that that fall prevention exercises on a dynamic platform are effective and with good compliance. Platform exercise is an ideal start for older community dwellers to find in a protected environment the beginning of the thread that will lead them to a change of lifestyle and, therefore, to long-term health.