The effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation integration pattern exercise program on the fall efficacy and gait ability of the elders with experienced fall

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of exercising program utilizing proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation integration pattern (PIP), which is effective in improvement of the physical function, on the fall efficacy and gait ability of the elders who experienced injuries from falls. Also, this study aims to investigate he applicability of exercise program as methods for fall reoccurrence prevention and physical functions enhancement. The subjects of the study were 30 elders in the local community with experience of injuries from falls. The period of the study was 4 weeks with 12 exercise sessions. The subjects were randomly allocated to 2 groups where 15 elders were allocated to PIP and the rest 15 elders were allocated to general exercise (GE) group. Fall efficacy scale (FES) and GAITRite were used for the measurements in this study. Paired t-test was used to analyze the differences within the group while independent t-test was used to analyze the difference between two groups. In the comparison of measurements before and after exercise program, FES, velocity, cadence, and stride length were shown to be significantly increased in both PIP group and GE group. Also, in the comparison between two groups after the exercise program, the measurements of FES, cadence, stride length, and step length in PIP group were shown to be significantly increased compared to the GE group. Therefore, the PNF combined pattern is judged to be applicable to as methods for fall reoccurrence prevention and physical functions enhancement of the elders with experience of being fallen.