The Effects of Physical Exercise on Balance and Prevention of Falls in Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to evaluate the effects of physical exercise on static and dynamic balance in the elderly population, and to analyze the number of falls and fallers. A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed–Medline, Cochrane Central, and Goo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of clinical medicine Vol. 9; no. 8; p. 2595
Main Authors Papalia, Giuseppe Francesco, Papalia, Rocco, Diaz Balzani, Lorenzo Alirio, Torre, Guglielmo, Zampogna, Biagio, Vasta, Sebastiano, Fossati, Chiara, Alifano, Anna Maria, Denaro, Vincenzo
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 11.08.2020
MDPI
Subjects
Accident prevention
Aging
Alzheimer's disease
Bias
Clinical medicine
Confidence intervals
Exercise
Falls
Fractures
Injuries
Injury prevention
Intervention
Meta-analysis
Muscle strength
Older people
Physical fitness
Posture
Quality of life
Review
Systematic review
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Summary:The aims of this systematic review and meta-analysis were to evaluate the effects of physical exercise on static and dynamic balance in the elderly population, and to analyze the number of falls and fallers. A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed–Medline, Cochrane Central, and Google Scholar to select randomized clinical trials that analyzed the role of exercise on balance and fall rate in patients aged 65 or older. Sixteen articles were included in this review. Applying the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool, three studies were determined to be at low risk of bias, nine at unclear risk of bias, and four at high risk of bias. The meta-analysis showed improvements in dynamic balance (p = 0.008), static balance (p = 0.01), participants’ fear of falling (p = 0.10), balance confidence (p = 0.04), quality of life (p = 0.08), and physical performance (p = 0.30) in patients who underwent physical exercise compared to controls. The analysis of the total numbers of falls showed a decreased likelihood of falls in patients who participated in exercise programs (p = 0.0008). Finally, the number of patients who fell at least once was significantly reduced in the intervention group (p = 0.02). Physical exercise is an effective treatment to improve balance and reduce fall rates in the elderly.
ISSN:2077-0383
2077-0383
DOI:10.3390/jcm9082595