Does Fall Arrest Strategy Training Improve Capacity to Prevent Fall-Related Injury in Older Women? (FAST)
Fall Injury
About this trial
This is an interventional prevention trial for Fall Injury focused on measuring fall risk, older adult, injury prevention
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Women aged 60 years or older living in the community.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Any recent upper body (hand, wrist, shoulder, trunk, neck) injury or painful joint problem that limited day to day activities or resulted in pain on a daily basis,
- A prior distal radius fracture in the past 2 years,
- Any fracture in the past year, or multiple fractures of the wrist or forearm,
- Any history of UE neurological problems (i.e. Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Reflex Neuropathy),
- Any cardio-vascular problems that would contradict UE strength testing or training,
- Any signs of severe cognitive impairment or
- Unable to safely ambulate independently (with or without a walking aid) in the community.
A medical and demographic screening questionnaire as well as the Mini-Cog (Borson et al, 2000) were used to determine eligibility.
Sites / Locations
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Active Comparator
Placebo Comparator
FAST
Standard
Twice per week exercise program, 45 minutes duration for 12 weeks conducted in the community. Participants attended a 30-minute fall prevention education session once per week. FAST followed the same principles as Standard, with the addition of the following goals: 1) Increase UE strength (shoulder girdle/arm) utilizing both concentric and eccentric contractions, 2) Improve trunk and neck postural control during slow and fast body motions, 3) Optimize forward descent strategies via practice of quick response reaching, landing and controlled descent with hands on the wall or on the floor as able. Training progression for strength and body control included increasing the distance standing from the wall, progressing to one arm descents, increasing reps and speed and moving to greater gravity and body weight resistance such as hands and knees position on the floor as able. Quick movement practice targeted unexpected reaching activities, balloon and ball toss
Twice per week exercise program, 45 minutes duration for 12 weeks conducted in a community site (assisted living residence). Participants also attended a 3o minute fall prevention education session once per week. The Standard intervention consisted of a fall prevention exercise program designed for community-dwelling older adults. Exercises focussed on balance, leg strength, walking and mobility exercises designed to decrease fall risk.