Effectiveness of a Sensorimotor Exercise Program on proprioception, balance, muscle strength, functional mobility and risk of falls in the elderly

Introduction: Sensory systems provide the information necessary for a motor response to be provided. Often, muscle weakness and sarcopenia are the most predominant factors for the increase in the rates of comorbidities associated with falls, many elderly people receive only the suggestion of muscle strengthening as professional guidance. In this sense, the objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a sensorimotor exercise program on proprioceptive acuity, balance, muscle strength, functional mobility and risk of falls in institutionalized elderly. Methodology: 56 participants (84.6±8.4 years) were randomly assigned to the control group (CG, n=28) and intervention group (IG, n=28). The CG performed a protocol based on warm-up, muscle strengthening and calm down and the IG performed the same intervention, with the addition of sensorimotor exercises. Joint Position Sense (SPA) in both limbs at 20º and 45º angles, balance, functional mobility, fear of falling in the elderly and muscle strength of the quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors and abductors in both limbs were evaluated before and after the 12 weeks of intervention. Results: Both groups showed gains in muscle strength. When analyzing functionality through TUG, before and after for each group in isolation, both showed a significant difference (CG p=0.002; IG p<0.001). For the SPPB variable, there were significant differences in the IG regarding balance (p<0.001), gait speed time (s) (p=0.004) and sit-stand (p=0.002). In the SPA, significant differences were recorded for the Absolute Error 45º No Dom (p=0.045) and Relative Error 45º No Dom (p=0.045) in the CG and Relative Error 45º No Dom for IG (p=0.018). In the variable FES-I, there were significant improvements in the CG (p=0.006) and in the IG (p=0.002). However, only in the IG there were significant improvements (p = 0.013) for ABC in a comparison between before and after the 12-week period of research. Conclusions: The effectiveness of sensorimotor exercises provides the elderly with a gain in balance and positively impacts their confidence when performing their functions. It is concluded that the protocol presented in its different levels of difficulty is effective and important for the quality of life of the institutionalized sedentary elderly.