Effectiveness of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Tai Chi Exercise on the Fear of Falling: a Clinical Trial Study

Fear of falling in the elderly is a significant health problem. This study was aimed to compare the two CBT and Tai Chi exercise methods to reduce the fear of falling among retirees.

This randomized clinical trial study was conducted from December 2018 to October 2019 on elderly retirees who were referred to the Retirees Association at Kerman University of Medical Sciences in Kerman, Iran. A number of 120 elderly people were randomly assigned to Tai Chi, CBT, and control groups (40 retirees/group). The intervention in CBT groups consisted of 16 sessions of 60 to 70 minutes for eight weeks and in Tai Chi groups consisted of 16 sessions of 45 to 60 minutes for eight weeks. The participants in the control group received training on the problems of old age. The self-report scale assessed fear of falling before, one, and two months after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version 18 using ANOVA and Chi-square tests.

Before and in the first month after intervention, there was no significant difference between the three groups regarding the total score of fear of falling and its components (p<0.05). In the second month, the total score of fear of falling in the Tai Chi group was 8.95±1.63, the CBT group was 8.6±1.63, and the control group was 7.63±1.36, and there was no significant difference (p=0.147). Also, the most significant difference in the total fear of falling score was between the Tai Chi and the control groups.

Tai Chi and CBT interventions are effective in the fear of falling in the elderly.