Zen and the art of falls prevention

A pilot study into the benefits of yoga to improve balance and mobility in older people has reported significant results, paving the way for a bigger study looking at the potential role of yoga in falls prevention.

Above: Participants in the pilot studyof the Iyengar yoga program practiced a lot of standing postures to challenge balance and stability.

By Keryn Curtis

A pilot study led by Dr Anne Tiedemann from The George Institute for Global Health and the University of Sydney has confirmed what many have long intuitively believed – that yoga can significantly improve balance and mobility in older people.    

Conducted at a site in Sydney’s inner west, the pilot study involved 54 participants aged between 59 and 87 over a twelve week period.  The participants practiced a specially designed program of Iyengar yoga twice a week, with the challenge increasing over time.

Class sizes ranged from 12 to 15 people and lasted for one hour per session. Participants were also encouraged to practise their poses for 10 to 20 minutes two days a week at home.  

The results showed significant improvement on a range of measures including standing balance, a sit-to-stand test, a four metre walk, and a one-legged stand with eyes closed. 

Dr Tiedman (pictured below) said older people who perform well on these balance and mobility tests are about half as likely to fall as people with poor performance.

“In the evidence for falls prevention, we know that not all exercise is equal – we can’t say that everything works in the same way.  So we need to measure it and demonstrate the evidence,” she said. 

The team hopes to gain the funding to undertake a larger scale randomised controlled trial that will  demonstrate the benefits of the Iyengar yoga program in falls prevention for older people.

“There is not a lot of literature about yoga and falls prevention.  We know that exercise is good for preventing falls but to be most effective, the strength building exercise needs to challenge balance.  

“There’s been quite a lot of research on Tai Chi and on the Otago Exercise Program [a successful program developed in New Zealand] but almost nothing on yoga, certainly nothing at the randomised controlled trial level and you need that sort of large scale evidence in falls prevention,” said Dr Tiedman.

“Now we have a pilot to show it is safe and that people will do it and the results were so fantastic in such a short amount of time. But we need to test it with a sample size that’s big enough to demonstrate it scientifically, with around 500 people.”

Iyengar yoga

Dr Tiedman said the Iyengar form of yoga was chosen for the pilot, over other ‘flow’ styles, for its discrete postures.   

“The program was designed by the Iyengar-certified instructor with a focus on the standing postures,” said Dr Tiedman.

“The poses were introduced with upper limb support where required, such as using walls or chairs to assist balance, but the ultimate goal by the conclusion of the 12 weeks was for the poses to be completed without support.”

Dr Tiedman said that while there was a lot of interest and it was “incredibly easy” to recruit people into the study, some participants were sceptical.

“A lot of the men especially were sceptical at the beginning.  A lot had just come along because their wives had brought them.

“But they got such a lot of benefit, it was really rewarding. Some participants had really very substantial results,” said Dr Tiedman. “One woman needed a chair to help her to get onto the floor at the start of the program but she didn’t need it at the end. She told me it had changed her life!”

She said it was very pleasing to find that older Australians can improve their balance and mobility which may reduce their risk of falls, and therefore injury, by practising this yoga style.

“The study unearthed encouraging results, and something we had long suspected would be the case – that yoga is beneficial to people of all ages, not just supple young people,” said Dr Tiedemann.

“This trial demonstrates the balance and mobility-related benefits and feasibility of Iyengar yoga for older people, and the need for further investigation into yoga for preventing falls,” she said. 

Tags: anne-tiedman, falls-prevention, iyengar-yoga, the-george-institute-for-global-health, yoga,

2 thoughts on “Zen and the art of falls prevention

  1. I agree. Although I do not practise yoga often I know when I do I feel so much better. I am 64 years of age and sometimes feel very stiff after sitting for long periods of time at my work desk or after driving for over an hour.

    I think Yoga is good for the mind as well.

  2. A great study. I have been doing Iyengar yoga every week for 7 years now – it has improved my strength & balance. I work as an Occupational Therapist in a community setting – much of my work involves falls prevention advise/strategies. I am interested to read more about your study & know what postures were practiced.

Leave a Reply