Aged
Conditions
Keywords
Exercise, Fall prevention
Brief summary
The aim of the study is to investigate the effect of Strong and Steady (S&S) group exercise on fall risk and physical function among community-dwelling older adults over 12 months. A pre-post test study deign will be used.
Detailed description
The S&S group exercise program builds on the Otago and FaME exercise programs which have shown to be effective in preventing falls. Strong and steady has been adapted to more functionally fit older people. The study period will be one year. Due to the corona pandemic all S&S groups in Norway have been closed. Due to this all participants have had a break from their exercise program for more than 6 months and can be seen av new participants to the exercise groups. Participants that are about to start in a S&S group in municipalities in Trøndelag will be asked to participate in this study. They will go through tests of muscle strength and balance in addition to questionnaires at baseline and after 6 and 12 months of exercise. Where possible the participants will go through the same tests 1 month before they start to exercise in addition to the three other test timepoints.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALStrong & Steady exercise program
The community-based group exercise program S&S, with strengthening and balance exercise as the main components. The participants will attend a once-weekly, one hour supervised session. The exercises that will be used can be found in the S&S handbook which includes different difficulty levels. All instructors are volunteers and have completed the S&S education. Each exercise session will consist of a warm-up (5-8 min.), endurance exercises (10-15 min.), strength exercises (15 min.), balance exercises (20 min.) and a cool down/stretching (5 min.). In addition to attending the group exercises, the participants will be taught and encouraged to do home exercises twice a week from hand out leaflets that can be found at www.sterkogstodig.no.
Sponsors
Glasgow Caledonian University
Fysiofondet
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
65 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Able to get to the training facilities on their own * Able to walk without a walking aid indoors
Exclusion criteria
* Diagnosed with dementia
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 30 sec chair rise | Baseline and 3 months | Change in number of stands from a chair managed within a time frame of 30 seconds. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Number of falls | 12 months | Number of falls will be collected by daily calendars collected every month |
| The Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International | Baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months | The Short Falls Efficacy Scale-International (Short FES-I) questionnaire will be used to assess fear of falling. The total score range from 7 (no concern about falling) to 28 (severe concern about falling). Change in total score will be assessed. |
| Short Physical Performance Battery total score | Baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months | Includes 5x Sit-to-stand, 4 meters walk test and 3 different 10 sec stance positions. Change in total score (0-12 points). |
| 30 sec chair rise | Baseline, 6 and 12 months | Change in number of stands from a chair managed within a time frame of 30 seconds. |
| Four square step test | Baseline, 6 and 12 months | Time spent doing a sequence of moving through four squares back and fourth. |
| Everyday physical activity | One week monitoring at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months | Axivity activity sensors fixed to the lower back ang thigh will be used to measure everyday physical activity. Change in time spent doing physical activity will be assessed. |
Countries
Norway
Outcome results
None listed