Comparison of Differences in Kinetics of Elderly Women at Risk of Falling during Lumbar Stabilization Exercise per Obstacle Height

This study was performed to identify the kinetic and kinematic effects of the lumbar stabilization exercise on obstacle gait(5.2cm,15.2cm) among elderly women at risk of falls. The study subjects were 32 women aged 65 and over with a risk of falls identified by the Tinetti test. They were randomly allocated into 2 groups: the experimental group and the control group, and the lumbar stabilization exercise program was given to the experimental group for 12 weeks. The chi-square test and t-test were used to test homogeneity and compare baseline results of kinetic measurements on obstacle gait between the experimental and control groups. To identify the effects of the lumbar stabilization exercise program among study subjects, repeated measures of analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed. Regarding kinetic variables, the knee joint angle of the propulsion foot significantly increased when overcoming a 5.2cm obstacle. When overcoming a 15.2cm obstacle, the obstacle overcoming speed and the knee joint angles of the support and propulsion feet significantly increased. However, the shortest vertical distance between the support and propulsion feet was reduced considerably. Our findings suggest that lumbar stabilization exercises could be a promising therapeutic exercise method for fall prevention and management in elderly women at risk of falling, providing reassurance about the effectiveness of our study's findings and the potential benefits for the elderly and other patients requiring trunk stability.