the effect of balanced exercises on balance level of elderly in nursing homes

the effect of balanced exercises on balance level of elderly in nursing homes    mehdizadeh mollabashi l [1] *, safavy bayat z [2] , yagmaey f [3] , mehrabyy [4]    received: 26 jan, 2011 accepted: 19 apr, 2011   abstract  background & aims: as people grow older a number of physiological changes occur. furthermore, low muscle strength is a risk factor for falls in older people. this study aimed to determine the effects of strength and balance exercises on elderly nursing-home residents.   materials & methods: this clinical trial study covered 48 elderly in three age groups (65-70, 71-75 and 76-80) that were selected through purposive sampling. they were divided into two equal groups of men and women. the pretest-posttest trial was used. strengthening exercises were performed for one month in twelve 30-minute sessions. data were collected using a questioner and tinetti performance oriented mobility assessment (poma). different statistical tests such as repeated measures anova were used for data analysis by spss.   results : from 48 samples, body mass index (bmi) in 31% was under 20% and in 69% bmi was between 20-25%. in the last six months, 10% reported two falls 25% reported one fall and 65% had no falls. there was a significant increase in the score of performance before and after the exercises (p<0.001). however, change in test scores was not very significant (p<0.154).  conclusion: finally, the positive effects of strengthening exercises on improvement of balance level and muscular power in the elderly is very obvious. exercises particularly for strengthening lower extremities are essential to maintain independence and prevent falls. keywords: elderly, strength and balance exercises, balance, performance oriented assessment mobility tools   address: medical surgical nursing faculty, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, international branch, tehran, iran tel: (+98)9144612714  email: [email protected]   [1] graduate students, medical surgical nursing faculty, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, international branch, tehran, iran (corresponding author (   [2] instructor, medical surgical nursing faculty, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, tehran, iran   [3] associate professor of community health , shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, tehran, iran 4 professor of bio-statistics, shahid beheshti university of medical sciences, international branch, tehran, iran