Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
The Otago Exercise Programme (OEP) is a falls prevention programme developed in New Zealand to target the modifiable falls risk factors of lower limb weakness and impaired balance. There is strong evidence of the effectiveness of the OEP in reducing falls in older adults but evidence of the underlying clinical mechanisms is not as robust. This study aimed to explore the effect of participation in the OEP on clinical measures of lower limb strength and balance in community dwelling older women. In a clinical trial of community dwelling women over the age of 80 years who were participating in theOEP(n=19), and age matched women who continued with their normal activities of daily living and were not involved in an organised exercise programme (n=1 8), measures of strength and balance were compared. After 6 months participation in the OEP there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in measures of strength and balance. Further research is required to ascertain the clinical mechanisms that contribute to the effectiveness of the OEP.
Binns E, Taylor D (201 1): The effect of the Otago Exercise Programme on strength and balance in the community dwelling older women. New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy 39(2) 63-68.
Keywords: Otago exercise programme, falls prevention, community dwelling, older adult, elderly
INTRODUCTION
For older adults falls and their consequences are a major health issue (Campbell et al 1997). In a 12 month period approximately one third of adults over the age of 65 years old will fall and with the ratio of older adults in society increasing globally (Kinsella & Phillips 2005), that poses a growing health problem by placing an increasing demand on health services and limited health resources.
Of the more than 400 risk factors for falls (Masud & Morris 2001), lower limb weakness and decreased balance are two of the most easily modifiable (Myers et al 1 996). The Otago Exercise Programme (OEP) is a falls prevention programme which addresses the risk factors of poor balance and lower limb weakness with an individually prescribed, home based strength and balance exercise programme (Campbell et al 1997). A metaanalysis of four OEP trials demonstrated that the programme was effective in reducing falls by approximately a third in community dwelling older adults...