Effect of Strength and Balance Training Program on Maintaining Balance and Quality of Life in Older Male Adults with Fear of Fall

Objectives Balance defects are the leading cause of falls. Fear of falling in elderly tends to have negative impact on their quality of life. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine the impact of strength and balance training intervention program on the balance performance and quality of life of older adults.
Methods & Materials The present study was a semi-experimental research with pretest and post-test design. The study was conducted in the Arak city (Iran) and consisted of 31 subjects who were randomly assigned to experiment group (n=15) (mean age=66.07 years old) and control group (n=16) (mean age=70.14 years old).The main variables of the research included quality of life and balance performance, which were measured with an SF-36 questionnaire and one-leg stance with open eyes. The pre-and post-test scores were compared using Student's t-test, and the collected data was analyzed with SPSS software (16-version).
Results The findings indicated that balance performance of the experiment group have significantly improved (P=0.05). Moreover, the training intervention program is capable of improving the quality of life (SF.36) subscales. However, no significant differences were noted for social function and role limitation owing to the emotional problems.
Conclusion The prevention of fear of fall in elderly necessitates the intervention method for the improvement of their health status as well as maintaining a balance in their daily activities.