Lowering risk of severe falls

Researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS) have found that participation in tailored physical therapy programmes may not reduce the number of falls in the elderly, but can reduce the severity of falls by almost 50 per cent. Furthermore, for patients with no more than one major medical condition, participation in such programmes reduces overall fall risk by almost 70 per cent. The findings, part of the Steps to Avoid Falls in Elderly (SAFE) study, were published in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in February.

Led by Professor David Matchar, Director of the Health Services and Systems Research Programme at Duke-NUS, the team recruited 354 elderly patients who had sought medical attention at emergency departments for a fall or fall-related injuries. Half of the patients received tailored and intensive physical therapy, while the other half received no structured physical therapy beyond usual services. Both groups were tracked over a period of nine months. SAFE was a collaboration with Singapore General Hospital, Changi General Hospital and the Agency for Integrated Care.

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