Relationship between Turning difficulty and Fall risk among Geriatric Population: A Pilot Study

Falls are the second leading cause of accidental or unintentional injury deaths worldwide and a great number of fatal falls are from the elderly population. Turning activity is a major contributor to fall in elderly. Most geriatrics suffering from turning difficulty complain of fall incidences. Fall from turning usually result in fracture of femur and the result was eight times more than fall during straight forward walking. Devastating consequence of fall such as long standings pain, functional impairment, disability, and death highlight the need for targeted fall assessment and management. To investigate the relationship between turning difficulty and fall risk among geriatric population using standardised physiotherapy outcome measures. A cross-sectional study design with simple random sampling method was adopted. A total of 138 participants were recruited within Klang Valley. Prior assessment, they were screened using a standardised health status questionnaire. They were assessed with Time Up and Go Test (TUG) for turning difficulty and Modified Fall Efficacy Scale (MFES) for fall risk. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and One-way ANOVA Test were used for data analysis. 80% of the participants completed TUG within 14 seconds. The mean score of MFES was 8.03. Age, coexist medical conditions, medications used, frequency of fall, reason for fall and use of assistive device were significantly associated with MFES. Age, coexist medical conditions, medications used, and use of assistive device were significantly correlated with TUG. Independent t-test showed TUG was significantly associated with MFES. Turning difficulty and fall risk are correlated among the geriatrics. Hence, preventive measures need to be taken to reduce the fall risk.