Fall Risk and Utilization of Balance Training for Adults With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis: Secondary Analysis...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Orthopedics
• Physical Therapy

Background:

• Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) significantly impacts older adults' activity levels and increases fall risk.
• Balance training is a known fall prevention strategy for older adults.
• Evidence on balance training utilization in physical therapy (PT) for KOA is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the proportion of participants at high risk for falling in the PATH-IN study.
• To assess the frequency of balance training utilization within physical therapy (PT) interventions for knee osteoarthritis (KOA).

Main Methods:

• Secondary data analysis of the PATH-IN study (N=344).
• Fall risk assessed using the Four-Stage Balance Test and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test.
• Physical therapy notes were coded to determine balance training frequency.

Main Results:

• 35.5% of all participants and 36.2% of those in PT were at high risk for falling.
• Balance training was provided to 62.7% of PT participants.
• One-third of high-risk participants did not receive balance training.

Conclusions:

• A significant proportion of individuals with KOA exhibit high fall risk.
• Balance training is not consistently provided to all high-risk KOA patients in PT.
• There may be underutilization of balance training for KOA patients at high risk for falls.