A review of randomised controlled trials
Abstract
Objective—To assess the effectiveness of exercise programmes in preventing falls (and/or lowering the risk of falls and fall related
injuries) in older people.
Design—A review of controlled clinical trials designed with the aim of lowering the risk of falling and/or fall injuries through
an exercise only intervention or an intervention that included an exercise component
Main outcome measures—Falls, fall related injuries, time between falls, costs, cost effectiveness.
Subjects—A total of 4933 men and women aged 60 years and older.
Results—Eleven trials
meeting the criteria for inclusion were reviewed. Eight of these trials
had separate exercise interventions,
and three used interventions with an
exercise programme component. Five trials showed a significant reduction
in the rate
of falls or the risk of falling in the
intervention group.
Conclusions—Exercise
is effective in lowering falls risk in selected groups and should form
part of falls prevention programmes. Lowering
fall related injuries will reduce
health care costs but there is little available information on the costs
associated with
programme replication or the cost
effectiveness of exercise programmes aimed at preventing falls in older
people.
Take home message
Many different risk factors
contribute to falls, but muscle weakness and poor balance underlie most
falls. Strength training
against resistance and dynamic balance
retraining improve both strength and balance and in randomised
controlled trials have
been shown to decrease the risk of
falls. Exercise programmes that are individually tailored and target
those at high risk
may be the most effective.
Falls in older people are an important but often overlooked problem. A third of people aged 65 years and older fall each year
and half of those in their eighties fall at least once a year.
Falls are the most common cause of injury in people aged 65 years and older and may result in institutionalisation and death
Muscle weakness and poor balance have been well established as risk factors for falls in prospective cohort studies
Appropriately targeted exercise programmes of sufficient intensity will increase and improve muscle strength, balance, and
cardiovascular fitness in older people
Exercises to improve strength and balance have therefore been central to most fall prevention programmes.
The purpose of this review is to examine the evidence for the value of exercise in preventing falls in older people.
Quelle und Full Text:
http://bjsportmed.com/content/34/1/7.full
Full Text / pdf - online im internet - Zugriff 30.09.2012 - GARDNER, M.; ROBERTSON, M.C.; CAMPBELL, J.A.:
Exercise in preventing falls and fall related injuries in older people: a review of randomised controlled trials:
http://www.stopfalls.org/files/preventingfalls.pdf
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