Balance Workshops Focusing on Learning to Stand Up From the Floor for Older Adults Living at Home: A Pilot Study Sol'Up

Summary

Falls among older adults are a major public health issue, accounting for approximately 2 million incidents annually in France, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths and 130,000 hospitalizations. Their cost is estimated at nearly 2 billion euros per year and is expected to rise as the population ages.

Falls result from multiple factors, including biological, behavioral, and environmental factors, with balance and gait disorders playing a central role. Their consequences include loss of independence, restricted activity, and fear of falling.

The ability to get back up from the ground after a fall is still largely overlooked. Yet up to two-thirds of older adults who have fallen are unable to get up on their own, exposing them to serious complications and an increased risk of further falls. This skill remains under-assessed and under-trained.

Physical activity-particularly programs combining balance, muscle strengthening, and functional training-can reduce the risk of falling by approximately 20 to 30 percent. Balance workshops are widely used for this purpose. However, these interventions primarily focus on fall prevention and rarely address fall management, particularly the ability to get up from the floor. Specific interventions targeting this skill are still underdeveloped, with mixed results.

The integration of structured training in getting up from the floor into balance workshops

Conditions

• Balance Control in Elderly
• Fall Prevention

Interventions

OTHER

Balance Workshops

Participants take part in the standard program, which includes one-hour group sessions designed to improve balance, mobility, coordination, muscle strength, confidence in moving around, and fall-prevention behaviors. The sessions include: * static and dynamic balance exercises; * muscle-strengthening exercises; * coordination and dual-task exercises; * joint mobility exercises; * educational sessions on physical activity, the environment, nutrition, and fall prevention; * discussion and wrap-up sessions to identify simple actions participants can take between sessions.

OTHER

"getting up from the floor" module

This 20 minutes module includes a safe progression covering: * lower-body mobility, particularly the ankles, knees, and hips; * weight shifts; * gradual transitions to the floor; * exercises in intermediate positions: lunge, knight's stance, all fours; * strategies for turning and moving on the floor; * learning to transition from the floor to a standing position; * identifying secure points of support; * managing apprehension; * applying what has been learned to everyday situations. Progression is tailored to each participant's level. Moving to the floor is never required. In cases of apprehension, pain, functional limitations, or identified risks, the physical therapist suggests adaptations: exercises with support, use of a stable chair, partial exercises, movement simulation, or identifying possible steps without fully lowering oneself to the floor.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre Hospitalier Emile Roux

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-01

Primary Completion

2028-03-31

Completion

2029-03-31

Countries

• France

Study Locations