The effect of fall-proof exercises on balance, walking speed, cognitive abilities in elderly people with stroke

It is very likely that the elderly will suffer from movement disorders and weak cognitive abilities after a stroke. Exercise can be a suitable strategy for rehabilitation in the elderly after stroke. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of fall-proof exercises on cognitive abilities, balance and walking speed in elderly people with stroke. The current research was an interventional type. The research population included all stroke patients (334 people) in Yazd city, of which 24 male patients were selected by convenience sampling. The statistical sample was randomly divided into two equal experimental (12 people) and control (12 people) groups. The experimental group performed fall-proof exercises for 8 weeks, and the control group did not perform any intervention. In general, a training session included 10 minutes of warm-up and stretching, 15 minutes of strength training, 25 minutes of multisensory balance training (vision, vestibular, sensory-body), center of gravity control, and posture strategies. Cognitive abilities, balance and walking speed were measured before and after the exercises in both experimental and control groups. Multivariate covariance test was used for inter-group comparison and paired t-test was used for intra-group comparison. The results of the intergroup test showed that decision-making (p<0.001), sustained attention (p=0.003), cognitive flexibility (p<0.001), memory (p=0.005) Problem solving (p=0.001), balance (p<0.001) and walking speed (p=0.002) had a significant difference in the two experimental and control groups. The results of the intragroup test showed decision-making (p<0.001), paid attention (p<0.001), cognitive flexibility (p<0.001), memory (p<0.001), problem solving (p=0.003), balance (p>0.001) and walking speed (p=0.005) in the experimental group increased significantly in the post-test compared to the pre-test. fall-proof exercises have led to the improvement of cognitive abilities, balance and walking speed in the elderly with stroke. Considering the improvement of cognitive abilities, balance and walking speed, fall-proof exercises can be used in rehabilitation programs for elderly people with stroke.