International Journal of Health Sciences

The Efficacy of Kinesiotherapy in Secondary Fall Prevention among seniors for Optimisation of their Health Quality
Iakovidis Paris PT, Msc; Kellis Eleftherios; Kofotolis Nikolaos; Gioftsidou Asimenia; Apostolou Thomas MD; Takidis Ioannis

Abstract
With the increase of life expectancy, fall risks also increase, particularly among people of older ages, which lead to the need for preventing and managing such risks, and promoting quality of life for these individuals. This paper studies the effect of a specially designed kinesiotherapeutic intervention protocol in secondary fall prevention for optimisation of quality of life among seniors who have undergone intramedullary nailing surgery (g-nail) following a trans-trochanteric hip fracture. This is a quantitative randomised control trial including sixty (n=60) seniors aged 65-74 who had undergone intramedullary nailing surgery (g-nail) due to a fall during the previous year. Participants were divided into two groups: the experimental group (n=35), which followed a combined treatment programme of static and dynamic exercises, balance and flexibility, and the control group (n=25) that did not follow any treatment plan. The total duration of the therapeutic plan was twelve weeks, with three weekly sessions not exceeding sixty minutes each. The therapeutic plan was evaluated using the SF-36 health survey, with follow-up reviews six months and one year after the implementation of the therapeutic plan to the experimental group. The results of the study revealed that the experimental group presented a statistically significant improvement, as confirmed by the SF-36 health survey (p<.001) and they maintained results at the 6- and 12-month intervals. The combination therapeutic protocol, lasting a total of twelve weeks, improved quality of life among seniors who had undergone intramedullary nailing surgery (g-nail) following a trans-trochanteric hip fracture.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijhs.v4n4a7