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Home-based exercise after hip fracture improves functional mobility, activity

By Emily Delzell

A home exercise program produced modest improvements in physical function in patients who had already completed standard rehabilitation after hip fracture, according to a study published on February 19 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Boston University research­ers randomized functionally limited older adults to exercises taught by a physical therapist and performed independently for six months (n = 100) or to a control group (n = 95).

Investigators measured function with the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB; range 0-12) and mobility and daily activity with the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care (AM-PAC) (range, 23-85 for mobility and 9-101 for daily activity). (Higher scores indicate better function.)

Compared with controls, home exercisers had significantly greater improvements in mobility, balance, and daily activity. In home exercisers mean SPPB scores rose from a baseline of 6.2 to 7.2 at six months (vs 6.0 to 6.2 in controls), while mean AM-PAC mobility and activity scores rose from 56.2 to 58.1 and 57.4 to 61.3, respectively, versus 56 to 56.6 and 58.2 to 58.6 in controls.

Source:

Latham NK, Harris B, Bean JF, et al. Effect of a home-based exercise program on functional recovery following rehabilitation after hip fracture: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2014;311(7): 700-708.

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