Aquatic exercise training for falls and potentially modifiable risk factors of falls in older people: A blinded randomized controlled trial protocol

Abstract

IntroductionThere is a lack of randomized clinical trials involving hydrotherapy to prevent falls in people over the age of 65 years. This trial aims to verify the effects of hydrotherapy on falls and potentially modifiable risk factors of falls in community-dwelling people aged 65 years and over. MethodsA single-blind randomized controlled trial will be conducted with 60 people aged 65 years and over, without cognitive impairment. The participants will be randomly allocated to one of two groups (Hydrotherapy Group and Control Group). The Hydrotherapy Group will perform a multicomponent protocol consisting of a warm-up, muscular resistance and activation, balance, aerobic capacity, and cool-down exercises. The Control Group will not perform any intervention. The Hydrotherapy training will have progressive intensity, lasting 16 weeks, and will include two 1 h sessions per week on non-consecutive days. All participants will be assessed at baseline, after 16 weeks of training, and after 6 weeks of detraining. The assessment will consist of medical history, neuropsychological measures (cognitive functions, depressive symptoms, fear of falling, behavior), and motor measurements (muscle strength, balance, mobility). In addition, the occurrences of falls will be collected over 22 weeks through a falls calendar and monthly phone calls to verify the effects of training and short- term detraining. ResultsWe expect that the aquatic multicomponent exercise protocol associated with dual tasks will reduce fall rates and improve some motor and neuropsychological risk factors compared to the Control Group after training and short-term detraining. ConclusionsHydrotherapy warrants investigation as a falls prevention strategy in older people. Clinical trial registrationREBEC (RBR-48z4vp).