Exercise to Prevent Falls in Older Adults: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Feasibility and acceptability of orientation and mobility instructors delivering the LiFE falls prevention program to older people with vision impairment.

“…This is the first time that the LiFE program has been delivered specifically to a population with vision impairment. The response to the program was generally positive, was Dose is critical to the success of a strength and balance training falls prevention program, with recommendations that a program should provide a moderate or high challenge to balance and be undertaken for at least two hours per week on an ongoing basis (Sherrington, Tiedemann, Fairhall, Close, & Lord, 2011). The only large scale trial in a population with vision impairment which evaluated the impact of strength and balance training using the Otago Exercise Programme did not find a reduction in falls (Campbell, Robertson, La Grow et al, 2005).…”

“…Strength and balance training has been established as an effective intervention to reduce falls risk in the general population (Sherrington, Tiedemann, Fairhall, Close, & Lord, 2011) and older people with poor vision are less active (Ramulu, Maul, Hochberg, Chan, Ferrucci, & Friedman, 2012) and have worse balance than older people with normal vision (Black, Wood, Lovie-Kitchin, & Newman, 2008). An epidemiologic study that investigated the factors which explain falls risk in older people with low vision found physical inactivity was one of the strongest indicators of falls risk, increasing the likelihood of falling by three times (Lamoureux, Gadgil, Pesudovs, et al, 2010).…”

Exercise interventions reduce the risk of injurious falls among older adults

“…In real-world settings, substantial numbers of older people undertake limited exercise, and large numbers are categorised as inactive. Previous large meta-analyses of exercise interventions for reducing falls have shown clearly that effective falls prevention exercises interventions are ongoing, with a high challenge to balance and more than 3 hours per week of exercise 6. Hence, the additional findings that quality improvement strategies should be implemented is vital for healthcare practitioners and organisations.…”

PrevenTing Falls in a high-risk, vision-impaired population through specialist ORientation and Mobility services: protocol for the PlaTFORM randomised trial

“…In a recent systematic review and meta-analysis, fall rates were 21% lower in community-dwellers participating in exercise programmes than controls (pooled rate ratio 0.79, 95%, CI 0.73 to 0.85, 69 comparisons), and there were almost 40% fewer falls in people who had undertaken high-dose exercise programmes, which involved a high challenge to balance (pooled rate ratio 0.61, 95% CI 0.53 to 0.72) 24. Providing these programmes to high-risk populations, including those with vision impairment, has proven problematic.…”