Helping Hand residents work out to prevent falls

South Australian not-for-profit aged care provider Helping Hand has implemented a new exercise program to improve residents’ physical function and prevent falls.

Government data shows approximately one-third of people living in residential aged care had at least one fall in the October to December 2023 period.

With the aim of reducing such statistics, Helping Hand has developed the Strong and Steady exercise program. “It consists of residents attending a group twice a week in our gyms around our facilities run by a physiotherapist,” Helping Hand physiotherapist James Faunt told Australian Ageing Agenda.

The exercise regime – which initially rolled out in July last year across six of Helping Hand’s metropolitan sites and one country facility – is built on the evidence-based SUNBEAM program developed by award-winning academic and practicing physiotherapist Dr Jennifer Hewitt. “It provides a really clear framework for conducting group exercise in residential aged care,” Mr Faunt said.

The Strong and Steady program was developed following discussions in a falls working group. “We wanted to look at additional falls prevention strategies we could put in place to try and reduce the number of falls,” Mr Faunt said. “We were also interested in how we could optimise [residents’] health and wellbeing through physical improvements in their strength, balance, and walking ability.”

Held over a 24-week period, the program requires participants to attend two one-hour sessions a week. “It’s a clear exercise regime of progressive resistance training and more challenging balance exercises delivered at a moderate intensity for the residents,” Mr Faunt told AAA.

Performance is measured on weeks 1, 8, 16 and 24 using the Short Physical Performance Battery – an outcome measure that assesses balance, lower extremity strength, and functional capacity in older adults.

At the end of the 24 weeks, a group of residents participating in a trial at Helping Hand’s Mawson Lakes site in the Adelaide suburb of Salisbury recorded an average improvement rate of 64 per cent on their SPPB compared to their initial scores.

“With that outcome measure there was a huge improvement in their physical performance. We noticed it across all the domains: strength, ability to stand, standing balance, and their gait speed,” Mr Faunt said.

“We also noticed it across all sites, there was a similar pattern of improvement among residents,” he added. “We have a clear graph of their improvement where we can see those neuromuscular changes happening as they move through the program.”

We’re seeing some really great results

Using the Mawson Lakes data combined with stats recorded at other Helping Hand sites, an analyst was able to report a significant reduction in the number of falls (41 per cent), falls-related injuries (40 per cent), and ambulance attendance/hospital admissions (60 per cent).

As well as delivering impressive results, the Strong and Steady classes are proving popular with residents. “Previously, I would happily sit in my chair watching the world go by,” said one. “Since starting Strong and Steady classes, I have a newfound motivation to exercise and love that I can just get up and go without feeling stiff and sore.”

Another said: “I have noticed an improvement in strength, balance and mobility when it comes to everyday tasks like standing up from a chair, getting out of bed or just walking to the dining hall.”

The Strong and Steady program now runs across all of Helping Hand’s metropolitan sites and has expanded to include two more of its country facilities. “We’re seeing some really great results through implementing this program,” Mr Faunt said. “I’m not surprised because the evidence is now there. This was a really conclusive trial.”

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