Effect of physical exercise program on the balance and risk of falls of institutionalized elderly persons: a randomized clinical trial

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of an exercise program on the postural balance and risk of falls of institutionalized elderly persons. A randomized controlled trial was performed. The study was conducted in two long-stay philanthropic care facilities for the elderly in a city in the north of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Participants were divided into control (G1) and intervention groups (G2). G1 did not receive any type of intervention whereas G2 participated in an exercise program three times a week for twelve weeks. The groups were evaluated by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the Timed Up and Go Test (TUGT). After the intervention, G2 achieved better scores in both BBS and in the TUGT, indicating a significant improvement in body balance and a reduction in the risk of falls compared to G1. The Spearman ordinal correlation revealed that there was a statistically significant association between BBS and TUGT (p<0.001). G1 did not present positive results compared to G2 both at baseline and in post intervention. It can be inferred that the proposed exercise program was effective in improving body balance and the performance of functional tasks, contributing to an improvement in the risk of falls as a result. REBEC: RBR-5XNYJS.

摘要 本研究旨在评估一项锻炼方案对机构养老老年人的姿势平衡能力与跌倒风险的影响。本研究采用随机对照试验设计，在巴西南里奥格兰德州某城市的两家长期照护慈善养老机构开展。研究对象被分为对照组（G1）与干预组（G2）：对照组未接受任何干预措施，干预组则每周参与三次锻炼方案，持续12周。两组均采用伯格平衡量表（Berg Balance Scale, BBS）与计时起立行走测试（Timed Up and Go Test, TUGT）进行评估。干预结束后，干预组在BBS与TUGT中均获得更高得分，表明相较于对照组，其身体平衡能力得到显著改善，跌倒风险有所降低。斯皮尔曼等级相关分析结果显示，BBS与TUGT之间存在统计学意义上的显著关联（p<0.001）。无论是在基线阶段还是干预后阶段，对照组均未取得优于干预组的结果。由此可推断，本次研究采用的锻炼方案可有效改善老年人群的身体平衡能力与功能性任务表现，进而降低跌倒风险。REBEC: RBR-5XNYJS.