The PhD defense will take place

Friday June 16th, 2023
Time: 14.00
Place: Selma Lagerløfs Vej 249, 9260 Gistrup, Room 12.01.004

After the defense there will be held a reception. All are welcome.

About the PhD thesis

Falls among older adults are a significant concern, leading to health prob-lems and higher costs. With increasing life expectancy, the global burden of falls is expected to rise. However, falls can be prevented, and physical exer-cise, particularly task-specific training, has shown promise in preventing falls. Task-specific training focuses on situations where most falls occur by improving the ability to avoid hazards or regain balance after a disturbance while walking. Here, gait adaptability training (GAT) and perturbation-based balance training (PBT) are two promising modalities.

To support recommendations for fall prevention strategies, this dissertation aimed to fill gaps in the literature regarding GAT and PBT. Study I was a systematic review and meta-analysis, including 11 studies with 1,131 partici-pants, showing that GAT reduced fall rates by 42% and the proportion of in-dividuals with fall-related fractures with 81%. Study II was an RCT evaluat-ing the effects of a four-session treadmill-PBT intervention on daily life fall rates among community-dwelling older adults. Although there was a signifi-cant decrease in laboratory fall rates, no statistically significant between-group difference in daily life fall rates was observed. However, the PBT group had 22% fewer falls compared to the control group.

In conclusion, task-specific training approaches, such as GAT and PBT, can efficiently prevent falls. GAT, in particular, has moderate certainty evidence of sizable fall preventive effects. PBT, even with just 80 minutes of training, showed moderate reductions in fall rates over 12 months. However, these training approaches should be considered as part of a comprehensive pro-gram, and more research is needed to refine protocols, establish dose-re-sponse relationships, and increase the certainty of the evidence.