The effects of usual footwear on balance amongst elderly women attending a day hospital

Objective: to examine the effects of footwear on balance in a sample of older women attending a day hospital. Design: this was a crossover trial with a quasi-randomised allocation. Setting: assessments took place in the geriatric day hospital. Subjects: a cohort of 100 older women aged 60 years and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Age and ageing 2009-01, Vol.38 (1), p.62-67
Main Authors: Horgan, N. Frances, Crehan, Fiona, Bartlett, Emma, Keogan, Fiona, O’Grady, Anne Marie, Moore, Allan R., Donegan, Ciaran F., Curran, Martina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accidental falls
Accidental Falls - prevention & control
Aged
Aged women
Aged, 80 and over
Assessment
Balance
Company business management
Cross-Over Studies
Day Care, Medical
day hospital
Demographic aspects
elderly
Elderly women
Equilibrium (Physiology)
Falls (Accidents)
Female
Footwear
Geriatric Assessment
Geriatric day hospitals
Geriatrics
Health aspects
Humans
Management
Middle Aged
Older people
Postural Balance - physiology
Risk Factors
Shoes
Shoes & boots
Women
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Summary:Objective: to examine the effects of footwear on balance in a sample of older women attending a day hospital. Design: this was a crossover trial with a quasi-randomised allocation. Setting: assessments took place in the geriatric day hospital. Subjects: a cohort of 100 older women aged 60 years and over attending a day hospital. Methods: demographic data and a brief falls history were recorded. Participant's footwear was assessed using a footwear assessment form. A Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was completed under two conditions–-shoes on and shoes off with order counter-balanced. Results: the mean BBS was 39.07 (SD 9.14) with shoes on and 36.54 (SD 10.39) with shoes off (P < 0.0001). Balance scores were significantly higher with shoes on for 10 of the 14 Berg subcategories. Lower barefoot BBS scores were associated with a greater beneficial effect of footwear on balance (P < 0.001). Shoe characteristics were not associated with change in the BBS score. Conclusions: Wearing their own footwear significantly improved participants’ balance compared to being barefoot. The greatest benefit of footwear was seen in those with the poorest balance. Further studies should investigate whether particular types of footwear are associated with greater benefit.
ISSN:0002-0729
1468-2834
DOI:10.1093/ageing/afn219