BACKGROUND

falls and fall-related injuries are common in older adults, have negative effects both on quality of life and functional independence and are associated with increased morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Current clinical approaches and advice from falls guidelines vary substantially between countries and settings, warranting a standardised approach. At the first World Congress on Falls and Postural Instability in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in December 2019, a worldwide task force of experts in falls in older adults, committed to achieving a global consensus on updating clinical practice guidelines for falls prevention and management by incorporating current and emerging evidence in falls research. Moreover, the importance of taking a person-centred approach and including perspectives from patients, caregivers and other stakeholders was recognised as important components of this endeavour. Finally, the need to specifically include recent developments in e-health was acknowledged, as well as the importance of addressing differences between settings and including developing countries.

METHODS

a steering committee was assembled and 10 working Groups were created to provide preliminary evidence-based recommendations. A cross-cutting theme on patient's perspective was also created. In addition, a worldwide multidisciplinary group of experts and stakeholders, to review the proposed recommendations and to participate in a Delphi process to achieve consensus for the final recommendations, was brought together.

CONCLUSION

in this New Horizons article, the global challenges in falls prevention are depicted, the goals of the worldwide task force are summarised and the conceptual framework for development of a global falls prevention and management guideline is presented.

© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected].

BACKGROUND

In 2007, the Japanese Orthopedic Association established the term "Locomotive Syndrome" (LS) for the concept of locomotor organ dysfunction with potential loss of independence. The purpose of this study was to identify characteristics of LS and establish a diagnostic cut-off for the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS 25-p) for the Brazilian population.

METHODS

A cross-sectional observational study of the LOCOMOV Project cohort of independent outpatients aged ≥80 years was conducted. Questionnaires on functional status in Basic and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (Katz and Lawton, respectively) and quality of life (WHOQOL-Bref) were applied, together with the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS 25-p) to identify individuals with LS. Mobility was assessed using the five-times sit-to-stand test, 4-m gait speed, two-step test, one-leg standing time with eyes open and hand-grip test. The data were analyzed using Student's t-test, the Chi-Square test, and multiple logistic regression (stepwise). The significance level was set at 0.05 (5%).

RESULTS

A sample of 102 individuals with mean age of 87.3 (±4.2) years and predominantly female (73.5%) was assessed. We determined a cut-off score of 19 (sensitivity of 0.86 and specificity of 0.67) for diagnosis of LS, as assessed by the GLFS 25-p, and a high prevalence (55%) of the syndrome was found in the sample. In the multiple regression analysis, LS was directly associated with chronic pain (OR 22.24, 95%CI 3.13-157.87), use of a walking device (OR 17.121, 95%CI 1.94-150.49), and inversely associated with gait speed ≥0.8 m/s (OR 0.42, 95%CI 0.006-0.278), perception of good health (OR 0.153, 95%CI 0.029-0.799) and male gender (OR 0.086, 95%CI 0.0105-0.714).

CONCLUSION

The LS in the oldest old proved a very common condition in this survey, especially in women, and was strongly associated with chronic pain, worse performance on physical tests and poor quality of life.

Copyright © 2020 The Japanese Orthopaedic Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

BACKGROUND

Motor dysfunction is a major reason why the elderly lose their independence in their daily lives. The concept of locomotive syndrome has been proposed to describe the risk of mobility dependence caused by various locomotive organ disorders. The preservation of locomotive organs is now socially important in the middle-aged and geriatric population. Therefore, it is important to establish a screening program to evaluate motor function and related quality of life in a wide range of ages.

METHODS

We propose a new set of pre-existing scales (the Two-Step test, Stand-Up test, and 25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale) as screening tools to identify the population at high risk for locomotive syndrome. We performed a preliminary survey on 777 subjects who had no apparent disorders related to motor function. We also examined the reliability of the Two-Step test and Stand-Up test.

RESULTS

We found that each scale did not show ceiling or floor effects in various age groups. Because the correlations between the three scales were significant but weak, we assume that each scale covers different aspects of mobility. The test-retest reliability was found to be satisfactory for the Two-Step test and the Stand-Up test.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that our "Short Test Battery for Locomotive syndrome" is a feasible and reliable tool for screening the adult population as a preventative strategy for locomotive syndrome in a super-aged society.

OBJECTIVE

Fragility fractures in the elderly population is increasing due to the global aging population. Rehabilitation following hip fracture surgery plays a crucial role in restoring functional independence and quality of life. There are currently limited bedside rehabilitation tool for geriatric hip fracture patients. A novel tool (Time-Up and Flex [TUF]) was designed with the aim to allow patients perform bedside rehab exercises, provide objective feedback and enhance recovery.

DESIGN

A single centre, double-blinded, prospective validation study. A 3D printed TUF tool measures time taken to actively flex the operated hip to 30° on post-operative days [POD] 1, 7 and 14. The time is compared against subjective (Numerical Patient Reported Pain Scale [NPRS]) and objective outcomes (Tinetti Scale [TS], Functional Ambulation Category [FAC]). Assessors of the TUF score are blinded to the assessors of patient report outcome measures.

RESULTS

Mean time for TUF were 12.7 s (seconds), 9.5 s and 6.7 s, NPRS were 7.3, 4.8, 3.2, TS were 9.8, 14.1, 18.6, FAC were 1.2, 2.0, 3.1 on POD1, 7 and 14 respectively. Coefficient of correlation for TUF time against NPRS was 0.729 (p < 0.05), TUF time against TS was -0.721 (p < 0.05), TUF time against FAC -0.688 (p < 0.05). A decrease in TUF time correlated to a statistically significant decrease in NPRS, increase in TS and FAC. The calculated Cohen's D and Cronbach Alpha for TUF tool supported its ability to produce consistent and valid results.

CONCLUSION

TUF tool is valid and correlates with patient's subjective and objective outcomes. It has a good predictor value for the patient's pain, mobility and future falls risk. TUF tool has potential to be incorporated into geriatric hip fracture rehabilitation pathway in the future.

Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.