Trial shows fun home exercises can help prevent falls in older adults

A large randomized controlled trial by a team of researchers from Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and UNSW found that at-home “gamified” step exercises were effective in preventing falls in people aged over 65, reducing the number of falls by 26%. compared to a control group.

Results of the trial, led by NeuRA, were published in Natural medicine.

With an aging population, researchers say we need scalable and effective fall prevention strategies to address the growing impact of falls in the community.

“Regular exercises that challenge balance are effective in preventing falls, so we tried to make exercise fun and easy to do,” says Dr. Daina Sturnieks, lead author of the study and principal investigator. at NeuRA and UNSW Sydney.

“It was really encouraging to see that smart±step, an exercise game console that anyone can enjoy at home without the help of a therapist, benefited older adults by preventing falls. “

A total of 769 people over the age of 65, all living in the community, participated in Dr. Sturnieks’ study. They were asked to do smart±step exercise games for 120 minutes per week for 12 months. They reported their falls during this period and this data was compared to a control group, who only received a public health leaflet on falls prevention.

During the 12-month study period, participants who received the exercise intervention experienced significantly fewer falls than the control group: 36% of the exercise group experienced a fall during the study period. study, while 48.2% of the brochure group suffered a fall.

While these results are encouraging, the researchers said a limitation of the research was that the sample was primarily composed of well-educated, high-achieving older adults.

“The results cannot be generalized to more frail older people,” the researchers said.

“Additionally, participants were not blinded to their intervention, so the level of fall prevention expectation may have differed between groups, which may contribute to a placebo effect that could impact the results .”

Why use gamified exercise to prevent falls?

One in three people aged over 65 and living independently will experience a fall each year. Falls are a significant public health problem, contributing to mobility-related disability and loss of independence, and are the second leading cause of death from unintentional injuries worldwide.

The best evidence for preventing falls in the community is physical exercise requiring balance, says Dr. Sturnieks.

“We have known for a long time that, if done correctly and regularly, balance exercises can prevent falls. But the problem is that people often don’t follow through with their exercises because they can become boring very quickly. “, she says. said.

This led Dr. Sturnieks and the team at NeuRA’s Falls, Balance and Injury Research Center to explore the idea of ​​gamifying balance exercises.

“People become addicted to games because they are fun and they are motivated to beat their high score and get lost in the game,” says Dr. Sturnieks.

smart±step is connected to a television screen and once a game of choice is selected, the person must step on target panels on a treadmill, just like one would do with a game controller.

An added benefit for brain training

The benefits of smart exergames (or exergames) go beyond the benefits of physical exercise: people also undertake cognitive training, which is easily integrated into these games.

“These exercise games require people to think quickly, unlike traditional exercise programs in which you often just go through the motions,” says Dr. Sturnieks. Smart±step exercise games involve walking on a mat, which acts like a controller.

Exercise games vary in content and range from collecting treasure to stomping on moving cockroaches or avoiding obstacles. Overall, games require timely movements and quick thinking to keep up.

“Exercise games are like a two-in-one: You get physical benefits, but you also stay cognitively challenged, which is good for the brain and for healthy aging. Plus, it’s amusing.”