- Details
- Created: 21 August 2018 21 August 2018
Falls is an important cause of bone fracture in elderly people and a major health issue, but it looks as if strengthening of the quadriceps muscles is one way to prevent the risk of falls among elderly people. That is the conclusion of a study carried out by Iranian researchers and published in Chiropractic & Manual Therapies.
In an effort to reduce falls among elderly people, the researchers have studied the connection between reduced quadriceps muscle strength (QMS) and elderly people’s risk of falls. The results of their studies indicate that the less quadriceps muscle strength the elderly person had and the older the person was, the greater was the risk of falls.
The study was carried out among 1028 participants of both sexes in the Amirkola Cohort Study. By interviewing the participants and reviewing their medical records the researchers discovered that 178 of the participants had experienced falls within the last year prior to the study. Furthermore, those who had experienced falls were older and had a lower QMS value. After adjustment for all clinical and demographic variables, occurrence of falls was negatively associated with QMS and positively associated with age > 70 years old.
The Amirkola Cohort Study is the first comprehensive cohort study of the health of elderly people in Iran.
The role of quadriceps muscle strength in the development of falls in the elderly people, a cross-sectional study. Alijan Ahmadiahangar et al, Chiropractic & Manual Therapies, 6 August, 2018, 26:31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-018-0195-x