Benefits of chair-based home exercises for physical fitness, activities of daily living, and balance status in older adults with balance disorder

Considering the increase in lifespan of societies, as well as the frequency of physical disorders connected with old age, such as balance disorder, it is critical to investigate low-risk strategies for improving the balance, physical fitness, and activities of daily living of older adults. Investigating the impact of chair-based home exercises (CBEs) on physical fitness, activities of daily living, and balance in nursing home residents with balance disorders. The participants in this quasi-experimental study with a pre/posttest design were 60 older adults, with balance disorders living in nursing homes, who were nonrandomly assigned to an intervention and control group. The intervention group received CBEs twice a week for 30-60 minutes, while the control group received nursing home routine activities. Balance, physical fitness, and daily living activities were measured in both groups after 6 weeks using the TUG, SFT, and ADL scales. The findings demonstrated no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of ADL, supported by Cohen's d of 1.049. However, exercise interventions in the intervention group increased the means of all physical fitness items, including chair stand (p = .01), arm curl (p < 0.001), two-minute step (p = .004), and chair sit and reach (p = .005), back stretch (p < .001), and eight-foot up and go (p = .014), some of them were partially significant according to the Cohen's d. CBEs were effective in the promotion of older adults' physical fitness. This shows the importance of exercise and physical activity in old ages. Thus, the treatment team can consider simple home exercises.