Efficiency of otago exercise program applied by telerehabilitation method in elderly individuals with a fall story

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of Otago Exercise Program (OEP) on pain, walking speed, lower extremity muscle strength, fear of falling, anxiety, quality of life and balance with the telerehabilitation method in individuals with a history of falling, which is frequently seen in elderly individuals due to aging. 45 people between the ages of 65 and 78 participated in the study. They were randomly divided into 3 groups as control, telerehabilitation (TYOEG) and face-to-face otago exercise program (YYOEG). 45 minutes of OEP was applied 3 times a week for 8 weeks. Pain, walking speed, lower extremity muscle strength, fear of falling, anxiety, quality of life, and balance were evaluated before the Otago Exercise Program, at the 4th week, at the 8th week, and 4 weeks after the end of the exercise program. Significance was evaluated at the p<0.05 level in the study. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of age, weight, height, body mass index and gender of the participants (p>0.05). In the comparison made within the group, there was a statistically significant difference between the data in all groups except for the walking speed parameter (p<0.05). When we compared the groups, there was no statistically significant difference between the TYOEG and YYOEG groups in all data except fear of falling and balance parameters (p>0,05). When we compared the groups with the control group, there was a statistically significant difference in all parameters except TYOEG and YYOEG walking speed parameters (p<0,05). There was a statistically significant difference in favor of TYOEG in fear of falling and balance parameters between TYOEG and YYOEG groups (p<0,05). We believe that performing exercises with the telerehabilitation method will not make any difference compared to face-to-face exercise, especially in the elderly with a history of falling who have a disability in accessing rehabilitation services. Keywords: Fear of Falling, Balance, Elderly, Telerehabilitation, Otago Exercise