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Falls prevention at Longridge Aged Care

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Angela Willsmore, Good Country Physiotherapy, Naracoorte Community News

Falls in older people are a serious health concern. In South Australia, SA Health reported in a March 2020 report that 47 people are admitted to an SA public hospital every day due to an injury caused by a fall.

Four out of 10 of these injuries are fractures, most commonly of the hip and leg. These injuries can have serious long-term impacts on mobility and independence for older people.

There are many risk factors which increase the chance of falling. These include issues with balance, leg strength and endurance, vision, medication, tripping hazards and changes in walking pattern and confidence. Importantly though, falls can be prevented.

Earlier this year, Good Country Physiotherapy commenced a falls prevention pilot program at Longridge Aged Care. The aim of this program was to improve the strength, balance and physical function of residents, to in turn reduce their risk of falling.

Nine falls prevention exercise classes were conducted over a three-month period, with the Covid-19 pandemic impacting the regularity of the classes due to outbreaks and staff illness.

Up to 16 residents attended each week and the classes were held onsite at Longridge Aged Care for 30-45 minutes, once per week and led by a physiotherapist from Good Country Physiotherapy (Tamara Lidums and/or Joanna Arnold). Assistance was provided by Wellbeing staff from Longridge Aged Care for some sessions.

Outcome measures were taken with all residents before commencing the program and at the conclusion of the nine classes. These measures included Grip Strength and Timed Up and Go. These are two simple to administer, standardised and commonly used outcome measures in older populations.

The classes were very well received, with positive feedback from staff and residents alike. The residents really enjoyed the group sessions, with staff reporting regular enquiries from residents about the class on weeks when it was not running.

There were some missing data in the outcome measures which is commonplace when working with this population. However, despite this, over the 12 weeks there was an average improvement in Grip Strength of 2.5kg (ie grip strength increased by an average of 2.5kg) and average improvement in Timed Up and Go of 2.2 seconds (ie test time reduced by an average of 2.2 seconds). All residents who participated in the exercise group saw improvements of some degree in both tests.

These results are significant and indicate a positive effect from the classes in both strength and walking speed over a relatively short period of time.

These results in turn suggest a potential reduction in falls risk for some residents during the classes. To achieve such significant improvements in these two measures across a relatively small sample size over a small period of time is a strong indicator for the successful implementation of this program.

If you would like to find out more about this program, or other falls prevention initiatives run by Good Country Physiotherapy, please contact Angela Willsmore on 87621515.

Naracoorte Community News 21 September 2022

This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.

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