• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.73-82
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• 2017

PURPOSE: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) has been shown to improve body function and activity/participation in people with functional dysfunctions. This study evaluates if active exercise using theraband in PNF pattern may induce similar benefits as exercise using manual PNF pattern performed by physiotherapists on promoting mobility, balance and fear of fall in community-dwelling elderly. METHODS: Twenty-three community-dwelling elderly with independent activities of daily living were recruited and randomly allocated into either PNF group - exercise in PNF pattern by trained physiotherapists or Theraband-PNF (T-PNF) group - exercise using theraband in PNF pattern, for an hour, twice weekly for 4 weeks. Functional outcomes such as Timed Up and Go test, Elderly Mobility Scale, Berg balance scale, functional reach and subjective measures including fear of fall (FOF) scale, bodily pain in visual analogue scale were measured pre and post-program. RESULTS: Twenty-one participants completed the program. PNF group demonstrated significant within-group improvements in all subjective measures and objective measures. Similar within-group improvements were demonstrated in all outcome measures except FOFS in T-PNF group. However, no between-group differences were found in any of the outcome measures. CONCLUSION: Comparable improvements in functional outcomes in community dwelling elderly were demonstrated in both groups. As manual PNF exercise traditionally need clinicians' contact and feedback on patient which limit the training to be carried out extensively in community setting. The current findings suggest that exercise using theraband in PNF pattern is feasible to be adopted as self-practice exercise for community-dwelling elderly to induce beneficial effects on functional outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.255-264
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• 2020

Objective: The purpose of this study is to develop new balance evaluation index that can discriminate fall risk factors and provide effective interventions for healthy elderly. In order to conduct this study, the balance assessment tools (TUG, mCTSIB, OLST, FRT and BBS) currently used in clinic were re-evaluated using biomechanical analysis. Method: The participants were healthy elderly people over 65 years old, n=26, age: 69.31±3.13 years; height: 154.00±4.12 cm, body weight: 56.13±6.04 kg. The variables are length of CoM-BoS, length of CoP-BoS, range of CoP, mean distance of CoP, mean frequency of CoP, root mean square of CoP, joint angle, ASM (%SL), CoP-CoM angle. Results: As a result of this study, the following items were included in the list of new balance evaluation index for the healthy elderly, showing differences in the biomechanical evaluation based on the clinical evaluation (Inclusion list: TUG, OLST, 8th assessment item of BBS (reaching forward with outstretched arm), 11th item (turning 360 degrees), 13th item (standing with one foot in front), 14th item (standing on one foot)). Conclusion: Based on the results, the new balance evaluation index for the healthy elderly determined through this study can be used to prevent the fall by evaluating the balance ability in various situations that can be experienced in the normal daily life of the healthy elderly.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.117-124
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• 2018

Purpose: This study was to analyze clinical and epidemiological characteristics of elderly patients who were admitted to the emergency department (ED) due to falls by separating male and female. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the fall patients aged 65 years or older from the data of the in-depth surveillance study of injured patients visit to the ED under the supervision of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) from 2011 to 2016 by separating male and female. Results: A total of 361,588 elderly fall patients were analyzed and, among them, 14,429 (37.3%) were males and 24,208 (62.7%) were females. Male and female showed similar frequency of damage happening season. However, they showed falling accident mostly on winter. The time of injury occurrence is mostly from 12:00 to 18:00 with 4,949 (34.3%) male and 8,564 (35.4%) female. Most falls occurred in daily activities, accounting for 7,614 (52.8%) in males and 14,957 (61.8%) in females, respectively. Unintentional damage accounted for the most part and 7,395 (51.2%) of male and 15,343 (63.4%) of female were injured indoors. Head and neck were the most common site of injuring, with 8,392 (58.2%) in males and 7,851 (32.4%) in females. According to ED examination outcomes, most of the patients were discharged, while the majority of the hospitalized patients were admitted to the general patient room. Conclusions: The elderly falls occurred mostly from 12:00 to 18:00, during winter and to elderly women. Also, they happened unintentionally indoors in everyday life, mostly. Proved clinical, epidemiological characteristics from this research will be used as useful indicator at validity research of development of prevent program of falling accident for elderly people.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.27-35
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• 2020

Objective : This study was to examine the effects of general characteristics and fall efficacy on health care program needs through a comparative analysis of general characteristics and health care program needs for the elderly. Methods : In this study, we analyzed data from 118 elderly people with t-test and ANOVA for comparison of fall effectiveness and health care program requirements and with regression for general characteristics and effects of fall effectiveness on health care program needs. Results : The results were as followed: First, there was a significant difference in gender(p=.00), age (p=.00),educational background(p=.00), and existence of spouse(p=.00), and no significant difference in income(p=.17) based on fall efficiency according to the general characteristics. There was a significant difference in gender(p=.00), age(p=.00), educational background(p=.00), and income(p=.00) and no significant difference in existence of spouse (p=.46) based on health care program needs according to the general characteristics. Second, it was shown that the higher age, the higher the income, the higher the effectiveness of the fall, and in case of woman, the more significant the effect of the exercise program had.. The explanation was 56 percent. Third, the higher the age, the higher the income, and the higher the fall efficiency, the more meaningful the cognitive program demand. The explanation was 48 percent. Conclusion : The data from this study showed the importance of fall efficacy in older people with significantly higher risk of falls than in other age groups, and the need for exercise and cognitive management programs to prevent falls.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2005.06a
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• pp.1925-1928
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• 2005

In recent years, the importance of the characterization of fall for a fracture prevention system keeps increasing since fracture from a fall can lead to serious health problems. Fall is one of the major sources which increase morbidity in elderly people. In terms of the cost and the influence to the quality of life, the most serious injury with hip fractures is caused by falls. The traditional methods in characterizing fall patterns have been mainly by the epidemiological surveys. With surveys, the exact data of fall patterns can not been acquired. In this paper, we measured and analyzed with the parameters related to fall pattern such as velocities and accelerations during the motion of falls using 3D motion capture program. We acquired the parameters of the fall pattern of intentional and unexpected fall. The result showed that the variation of velocity and acceleration during fall was very important in characterizing fall pattern, which of vital importance for the development of a fracture prevention system and for the safety of the elderly

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.620-628
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• 2008

Purpose: The purpose was to identify the effects of a Tai Chi exercise program on physical fitness, fall related perception and health status among institutionalized elderly. Methods: A quasi-experimental research was carried out with a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design. There were 23 subjects in the experimental group and 24 in the control group. The data was gathered by structured questionnaires about fall related perception, and health status. Physical fitness was measured by an exercise therapist with a blind principle. Results: At the completion of the 12 weeks Tai Chi exercise program, flexibility (F=4.50, p=.00), and ability to balance (F=3.27, p=.00) had increased significantly. Fall related perception showed significant improvement in the fear of falling (F=-3.52, p=.00). Physical functioning (F=3.38, p=.00), role limitation-physical (F=2.67, p=.01), role limitation-emotional (F=2.47, p=.02). and general health (F=3.88, p=.00) in health status showed significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion: The study findings revealed Tai Chi exercise as a useful nursing intervention for elderly that enhances flexibility and balance, decreases fall related perception and also increases the health status. Further research is warranted to compare the potential effects of Tai Chi exercise and its health benefits from other types of exercise or martial arts.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.1101-1112
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• 2005

Purpose: This study was done to suggest directions for developing exercise interventions for fall prevention in the elderly in Korea in the future, Method: Twenty five articles for fall prevention exercises were reviewed and analyzed. Result: $84.0\%$ of subjects were older adults age 65 and older living in the community. The most frequently performed interventions were lower limb strength and balance exercises together $43.3\%$, group exercise $70.0\%$, exercise 3 times/week $60.0\%$, 60 min per session $36.7\%$, duration of 12 weeks and 1 year $23.3\%$ each. The most frequently used outcome variables were static balance $84.0\%$, lower limb muscle strength $72.0\%$, dynamic balance $56.0\%$, and falls $56.0\%$. The effect of exercise interventions on fall prevention was inconclusive. Lower limb strength exercises with resistance were effective for increasing muscle strength. Balance exercises with various movements for balance were effective for increasing balance. Conclusion: Exercise interventions for fall prevention is recommended for older adults with risk factors of falling. The desirable type of exercise intervention is lower limb strength and balance exercise together.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.401-406
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• 2008

Fall event detection is one of the most common problems for elderly people, especially those living alone because falls result in serious injuries such as joint dislocations, fractures, severe head injuries or even death. In order to prevent falls or fall-related injuries, several previous methods based on video sensor showed low fall detection rates in recent years. To improve this problem and outperform the system performance, this paper presented a novel approach for fall event detection in the elderly using a subtraction between successive difference images and temporal templates in real time environment. The proposed algorithm obtained the successful detection rate of 96.43% and the low false positive rate of 3.125% even though the low-quality video sequences are obtained by a USB PC camera sensor. The experimental results have shown very promising performance in terms of high detection rate and low false positive rate.

• Journal of Korea Entertainment Industry Association
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.519-528
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• 2020

Purpose of this study is to analyze the changes in state anxiety, heart rate, and fall efficacy of the elderly through the handle height of walking assistant vehicle (WAV). The subjects were 32 elderlies. WAV was in the form of strollers, and it's handle height was set as 48% of a subject's total height. Also, it's height was divided into 48, 43, 38%. To measure the state anxiety, Korean State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used and to measure the heart rate, Fitbit Charge 2 wrist heart rate monitor was used. To measure the fall efficacy, Fall Efficacy Scale-Korea was used. As the results of state anxiety and heart rate, the statistically significant increase showed continuously through the decrease of the handle height of WAV. As the results of fall efficacy, the statistically significant decrease showed continuously through the decrease of the handle height of WAV. In all of the post hoc test, the results of the state anxiety and fall efficacy showed significant difference among the each handle height of WAV and the results of the heart rate showed significant difference between the 48, 43% and 38% handle height of WAV. Thus, to decrease the state anxiety and heart rate and increase the fall efficacy of the elderly, the handle height of WAV should be properly positioned and considered to adjust to 48% of the user's total height.

• Journal of Bone Metabolism
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.267-274
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• 2018

Background: This prospective cohort study used nationwide claims data to investigate the incidence of fall and fragility fractures in association with urinary incontinence (UI) in the elderly, and to compare mortality after fragility fractures in elderly patients with or without incontinence. Methods: A total of 39,854 Korean adults (age, 66-80 years) who participated in health examinations between 2007 and 2012 and were followed up until 2015 were analyzed. Patient and comparison groups were classified according to the presence or absence of UI. The cumulative incidence of osteoporotic fragility fractures and falls in the 2 groups was assessed and compared. Hazard ratios for fragility fractures were calculated for the risk of UI in association with falls using a Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Of 39,854 elderly participants, 5,703 were classified in the UI group, while 34,151 were placed in the comparison group. Fall rates were significantly higher (20.8%) in the incontinence group than in the comparison group (4.7%) (P<0.001). Women in the incontinence group (13.9%) showed a significantly higher incidence of all types of fragility fractures than those in the comparison group (11.8%) (P=0.005). After adjustment for confounders, UI was not a significant risk factor for fragility fractures in men (P=0.878) or women (P=0.324). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that elderly women with UI have a significantly higher incidence of osteoporotic fragility fractures. In addition, elderly women are at higher risk for falls.