The effect of otago exercise programme on knee position sense and mobility in community-dwelling elderly people

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the home-based Otago Exercise Programme on joint position sense, one of the sub-modalities of proprioceptive sense, and mobility in community-dwelling elderly individuals. A total of 54 volunteers with an average age of 68.78±3.82 years in the exercise group and 68.57±4.90 years in the control group participated in the study. The individuals were randomly divided into two groups as exercise (n=28) and control (n=26). Individuals in the exercise group were given a brochure containing the Otago exercise programme to apply at home for a total of 12 sessions 3 days a week for 4 weeks. No intervention was made to the individuals in the control group. The evaluations were performed in the same environment at the beginning and after 4 weeks. After demographic data were recorded, knee joint position sense was evaluated with the KFORCE Sens® device at 30° and 60° target angles, and mobility was evaluated with the Time Up and Go (TUG), 5 Repetition Sit To Stand Test (5*STST), and Single Leg Stand Test (SLST). In our study, when the exercise and control groups were compared in terms of knee position sense measurements, a significant difference was found between the groups at the target angle of right 30° (p<0.05). It was found that the left 60° change value in the pre-test and post-test knee position sense of the individuals was significantly higher in the exercise group than in the control group (p<0.05). In the post-test comparison of the TUG test scores between the groups, it was found that the walking time of the individuals participating in the exercise group decreased significantly compared to the control group (p<0.05). There was no difference between the groups when the post-test results for SLST the right and left foot were analysed (p>0.05). When the post-test scores of 5*STST test were analysed, no difference was found between the groups (p>0.05). When the change in 5*STST was analysed, it was found that the change in the exercise group was higher than in the control group (p<0.05). In our study, we concluded that the regular home-based exercise programme applied to elderly individuals had a partial improvement effect on knee position sense and had a positive effect on mobility.