Preliminary study of the relationship between fear of falling and ability to sit on the floor

• Published in: Journal of Physical Education and Medicine Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 19 - 26
• Main Authors: FUTAKI, Toshiko, NOMURA, Tomonori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Journal of Physical Education and Medicine Editorial Committee 01.01.2010
• Subjects: ability to sit on the floor; Age; Analysis; Falling; Fear; fear of falling; frail elderly; Gerontology; Home; Joints; Sitting; Women
• ISSN: 1345-6962; 1883-0722
• DOI: 10.11335/jpem.11.19

This study aimed to elucidate the relationship between fear of falling and ability to sit on the floor in frail elderly people. The subjects were 62 frail elderly people living at home who used day-care facilities regularly. Their ages ranged from 60 to 92 years, with an average age of 73.9±7.4 years. An interview was conducted to assess knee joint pain, lower back pain, fall history within 1 year, habit of sitting on the floor at home, and the Falls Efficacy Scale (FES, Japanese edition) score. The timed “Up and Go” Test, timed sit on the floor, timed stand from the floor, and the Barthel Index score were also measured. The results were compared. Only women showed a significant difference in FES (p=0.01) to the habit of sitting on the floor. A partial correlation analysis controlling for age revealed a significant correlation between FES score and timed sit on the floor (men : r=-0.41, p=0.04 ; women : r=-0.46, p=0.02). Ability to sit on the floor appears to be one of the factors related to fear of falling in frail elderly people.