Improving Capacity to Reduce Fall-Related Injury Risk in Older Adults

Fall Injury Clinical Trial

— FAST2  

Official title:

Improving Capacity to Reduce Fall-Related Injury Risk in Older Adults

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04988334
• Other study ID #: University of Saskatchewan
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 1, 2017
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2019

Study information

• Verified date: July 2021
• Source: University of Saskatchewan
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Fall Arrest Strategy Training (FAST) is a unique, simple exercise program designed to improve one's ability to prevent injury when a fall is unavoidable. Women are more likely to participate in fall prevention programming than men despite risk of serious fall related injuries such as head injury similar in both men and women. The purpose of this project is to test differences between men and women's physical capacity to control the downward descent of a forward fall and prevent injury and to understand factors that influence participation of women and men in fall prevention programming. A total of 60 seniors (30 men and 30 women) age 60 years or older will do their regular activities for 12 weeks followed by 12 weeks of FAST training. They will be tested before and after for muscle strength, balance and their ability to land and descend in a simulated forward fall using a safe protocol in our lab. Group discussions among women and men after FAST will help us determine facilitators and barriers to exercise participation.

Description:

The purpose of this proposed study is to advance our knowledge of this innovative and simple training program, FAST, to determine if it has potential to improve the physical capacity to arrest a fall and reduce injury risk in older community-dwelling women and men. Using our novel lab-based energy absorption and strength measures, we will be able to compare fall-arrest capacity changes in older men and women.This study will also help to inform strategies to engage older men in exercise programming.

Research Goals and Objectives: The principal research questions of this study are:

1. Does the FAST improve fall arrest capacity in older women and men as compared to usual activity (wait control period)?,

2. Does FAST increase arm muscle strength, response time, mobility and balance control compared to usual activity? ,

3. Are there sex differences in fall risk changes, fall arrest capacity, and chance of head impact? and

4. Do men differ from women in their perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to participating in FAST? The hypotheses are that: 1) FAST will result in greater improvements in energy absorption, UE strength, response time and mobility compared to usual activity for both older men and women; however 2) men will demonstrate enhanced fall arrest capacity and 3) will identify unique barriers and facilitators to participation compared to women.

The study is a quasi-experimental pre-post design with a wait list control period where 60 men and women, age 60 years or older will be recruited to participate in FAST.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 78
• Est. completion date: January 31, 2019
• Est. primary completion date: December 31, 2018
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 60 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults aged 60 years living in the community

Exclusion Criteria:

• recent upper body injury or pain,

• recent or history of more than one distal radial fracture,

• history of upper extremity neurological conditions or conditions contradicting upper extremity strength testing or training,

• signs of severe cognitive impairment identified with the mini-Cog

• unable to safely ambulate independently in the community

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Fall Injury
• Wounds and Injuries

Intervention

Other:
• Wait Control
usual activities

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	University of Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan

Sponsors (3)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Saskatchewan	Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research, Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	physical activity	physical activity scale for the elderly	12 weeks
Other	fall history	questionnaire	12 weeks
Primary	Muscle strength dynamic	concentric and eccentric isokinetic dynamometry	12 weeks
Primary	Muscle Strength isometric	Hand held dynamometry	12 weeks
Primary	Muscle Strength isometric	grip strength	12 weeks
Primary	Muscle strength isometric	push off test	12 weeks
Primary	response time	signal to touch on force plate	12 weeks
Primary	Balance	one leg stand	12 weeks
Primary	Balance	tandem stand	12 weeks
Primary	Balance	modified clinical test of sensory interaction and balancer	12 weeks
Primary	Balance Confidence	Activities balance confidence scale	12 weeks
Primary	Fall Risk	Fall Risk for older people in the community-screen	12 weeks
Primary	timed up and go test	stand, walk 3 meters, turn and return to sit	12 weeks
Primary	chair stand	30-second chair stand test	12 weeks
Primary	gait velocity	timed 6 meters within 10 meter walk	12 weeks
Primary	fall landing capacity	energy absorption, force, elbow range of motion	12 weeks