Aquatic Exercise and Efficacy Enhancement to Decrease Fall Risk in Older Adults With Hip Osteoarthritis

The Effect of Aquatic Exercise and Aquatic Exercise Combined With Education and Efficacy Enhancement on Improving Indices of Fall Risk in Older Adults With Hip Osteoarthritis: a Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The objective of this project is to determine the effect of aquatic exercise and aquatic exercise combined with an education program on decreasing fall risk in older adults with hip osteoarthritis. The hypothesis is that aquatic exercise will improve function, strength and balance and the addition of the education session will enhance confidence in movement.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Arthritis
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: 2; Behavioral: exercise; Behavioral: Control

Detailed Description

Older adults with hip osteoarthritis (OA) often experience pain and loss of mobility that significantly impairs their ability to walk, climb stairs, shop or participate in exercise programs. This can result in social isolation, depression and loss of confidence in their ability to manage independently in the community. A decline in physical and psycho-social function leads to increased risk of falling. It is crucial to identify high-risk fallers as well as the best interventions to decrease that risk; hip fractures from falls are devastating, resulting in death or admission to long-term care for the majority who sustain them.

Exercise programs designed to improve balance, strength and mobility can help to improve function and decrease risk of falling. However, individuals with hip OA may have difficulty participating in these programs due to pain. Aquatic exercise offers an activity alternative to improve mobility, strength and decrease fall risk. As well, the addition of a group program designed to enhance confidence in movement may further reduce the risk of falls by improving independence to be more active at home and in the community.

This project will evaluate the effect of aquatic exercise and aquatic exercise combined with a group educational program on decreasing fall risk in older adults with hip OA. Determining optimal fall prevention programs may avert death and loss of quality of life for older adults, clearly an important contribution to preventative health care.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 79
• Phase: Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Saskatchewan
    • Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, S7N 5B2
      • College of Kinesiology

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years and older (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• over age 65
• clinical diagnosis of hip osteoarthritis

Exclusion Criteria:

• medical condition tha significantly decreases functional ability such that not safe to exercise in a community program
• already exercising in a moderate exercise program 2/week or more

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Control	Behavioral: Control; no exercise
Experimental: Aquatic Education; Exercise combined with education	Behavioral: 2; Same as 1 with the addition of a 1/week educational group program to improve confidence in movement, learn about fall risk and fall prevention and the rationale for the exercises to decrease fall risk.
Experimental: Aquatic	Behavioral: exercise; A community aquatic exercise program designed for older adults to improve balance, strength and mobility to decrease the risk of falls.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Balance	Berg Balance Scale range 0 - 36 (36 is excellent balance, 0 is poor or no ability for standing balance)	baseline and 11 weeks
Change in Chair Stands	change in number of repetitions (the number of times moving from full sitting to full standing in 30 seconds)	baseline and 11 weeks
Change in Walking	change in 6 minute walk (distance in meters covered in 6 minutes)over 11 weeks	baseline and 11 weeks
Change in Falls-Efficacy	change in Activities Balance Confidence Scale (0 - 100, 100 represents high confidence, 0 represents low confidence)	baseline and 11 weeks
Change in Dual Task Function	change in Timed Up and Go Cognitive Test (time in sec., lower number means better performance)	baseline and 11 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Physical Activity	change in Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (0 - up to 300, higher score more active)	baseline and 11 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Saskatchewan
• Collaborators: Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Cathy M Arnold, MSc, University of Saskatchewan

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: October 1, 2005
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 1, 2008
• Study Completion (Actual): April 1, 2008

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 7, 2006
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 7, 2006
• First Posted (Estimate): February 9, 2006

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): August 3, 2010
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 6, 2010
• Last Verified: July 1, 2010

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: older adults, falls, arthritis, aquatic, exercise
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Arthritis; Osteoarthritis; Osteoarthritis, Hip
• Other Study ID Numbers: BIO-REB 05-158