An Intervention Study On Gait Balancing Exercises In Preventing Falls Of The Aged Residences In Nursing Homes

Objective: Design a set of gait balance exercises that meet the characteristics of the elderly and observe the effect of preventing elderly people from falling in nursing homes.Methods:1.Design of the gait balancing exercises: The design of the gait balancing exercises for elderly people is based on the unique physical and psychological qualities of the elderly,the review of related researches,and under the guidance of authoritative experts and physicians.It includes 8 types of gaits and 14 movements such as Deep-Breath Standing,Open-Close Eyes Standing,Gravity Shifting,Squatting with slightly Kneeling,Turning Movements,Lateral Starting,Raising Heels Standing,Stepping Still etc.It is mainly to exercise the balance and the coordination of the main muscles group of the lower extremities of the older adults.2.Implementation of the gait balancing exercises: Select 57 aged residences living in a certain nursing home from March to October 2016 with the age group of above 75 and below 83.The chose of the intervention group(sample number 29)and control group(sample number 28)were based on the room numbers.The intervention group trained gait balancing exercises on the basis of anti-fall knowledge.The training lasts 30 minutes each time,twice a week,and under the leadership of the researchers,the whole period of training was 16 weeks and face-to-face guidance was conducted when necessary.The control group only carried out anti-fall knowledge training.The content was the same as the intervention group and was limited to theoretical knowledge of daily living,such as food,clothing,housing,environment,disease,medication,and psychology etc.Before and after the intervention,both groups were evaluated by the gait balance test(Tinetti POMA),Morse fall assessment scale,3 Meters Stand Up-Walk Test(TUGT)and Fall Efficacy Scale in Chinese version,the effectiveness of gait balance exercises was also assessed.3.Statistical analysis: The data entry method is Epidata 3.1,and the data analysis method is SPSS21.0.Before and after the intervention,intra-group comparison and inter-group comparison were conducted.The test method for counting data is the ?2 test.The test for independent samples within and between groups is the paired t-test.The test results are statistically significant only when P <0.05.Results:1.Intra-group comparison: The Scores of the Tinetti POMA,TUGT,and fall efficacy Scale in Chinese version that the intervention group got before and after the intervention showed statistically significant difference(P <0.05).The comparison of the scores of the control group before and after the intervention showed no differences in statistical significance(P >0.05).2.Inter-group comparison: There was no significant difference in the general data between the two groups before the intervention(P >0.05).After the interventions,the evaluation index scores of the two groups of elderly people has shown differences in statistically significant(P <0.05).Conclusion:1.The gait balancing exercises can effectively make target muscles such as abdominal muscles,lumbar dorsal muscles and hip muscles get proper exercise,which will help increase core muscle strength,ensure body balance,and reduce the incidence of falls.The gait balancing exercises can improve the ability of walking of the elderly people and help them maintain independence in daily living.2.The gait balancing exercises regulate joint flexibility and improve walking control.3.The gait balancing exercises help to eliminate the fear of falling in the elderly,improve the enthusiasm of the elderly to participate in sports to help the elderly walk confidently.