Effect of mental practice on fear of falling in activities of daily living, satisfaction and lower extremity function in the community-dwelling elderly: A clinical trial

One of the negative consequences of such a fear is a decline in the person's ability to perform daily life activities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mental practice on fear of falling in activity of daily living, satisfaction, functional mobility and balance in the community-dwelling elderly people.

In this clinical trial study, 40 elderly people participated aged 60-80 who were referred to rehabilitation centers in Tehran, Iran were investigated. Correspondingly, all participants were randomly assigned to two groups of intervention (20 people) and control (20 people). Activity Balance Confidence test, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Berg Balance Scale, Functional Reach Test, and Timed Up and Go were respectively administered for assessment of fear of falling, satisfaction in activity of daily living, functional balance, and mobility before and after intervention and after the follow up period. In addition to home-based balance exercise (30 minutes), the intervention group received mental practice training 3 days (15 minutes) a week for 4 weeks, while the control group only performed home based balance exercises with the same duration and frequency.

Mental practice training significantly reduced the fear of falling in elderly (P = 0.01), But in satisfaction level, balance and functional mobility did not have a significant effect (P > 0.05).

Mental practice training can significantly reduce fear of falling in elderly (P = 0.01). These exercises can be useful for researchers and therapists in prevention and reduction planning for elderly's fear of falling.