Action Seniors! Exercise to Prevent Falls

University of British Columbia

Status

Completed

Conditions

Falls

Treatments

Behavioral: Home-based balance and strength retraining exercise program.

Behavioral: control; usual care

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT01029171

H04-70171

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will be a randomized controlled trial to determine the efficacy of the Otago Exercise Program (OEP) on falls among seniors with a history of falls.

Full description

A total of 344 community-dwelling adults aged 70 years and older who are referred to a falls clinic secondary to seeking medical attention due to a fall will be randomized to either the 12-month OEP group or usual care. There will be three measurement sessions: baseline, 6 months, and 12 months.

Enrollment

344 patients

Sex

All

Ages

70+ years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Adults older than or 70 years attending a Falls Prevention Clinic Service;
Understands, speaks, and reads English proficiently;
MMSE 8 score > 24/30;
Had one documented non-syncopal fall in the last 12 months and one of the following: a) A Physiological Profile Assessment (PPA) score of at least 1 SD above normal; OR 2) Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) performance of greater than 15 seconds; OR 3) One additional documented non-syncopal fall in the previous 12 months;
Expected to live greater than 12 months;
Community-dwelling (i.e., not residing in a nursing home, extended care unit, or assisted-care facility);
Able to walk 3 meters with or without an assistive device; and
Able to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

Diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease (e.g., Parkinson's disease);
Diagnosed with dementia (of any type);
Had a stroke;
Have clinically significant peripheral neuropathy or severe musculoskeletal or joint disease; or
Have a history indicative of carotid sinus sensitivity (i.e., syncopal falls).