THE MAIN PILLARS OF A PHYSIOTHERAPIST’S CONTRIBUTION TO DEVELOPING, IMPLEMENTING, AND ASSESSING METHODS DESIGNED FOR IMPROVING POSTURAL CONTROL IN OLD AGE
Simon András
Doctoral School of Health Science
Dr. Nagy Zoltán Zsolt
SE ETK Szél Éva terem
2025-04-28 14:00:00
Public Health Science
Dr. Sótonyi Péter
Dr. Kovács Éva
Dr. Földvári-Nagy Zoltán
Dr. Prémusz Viktória
Dr. Domján Gyula
Dr. Dénes Zoltán
Dr. Hock Márta
The alarming statistics discussed in the introduction show that, as life expectancy increases, more and more older people live their lives with limited functional capacity and dependent on others' help. Physiotherapists have an important role to play in helping older people to maintain their functional abilities to live independently for as long as possible and at the highest possible level. Modern diagnostic tools help physiotherapists in screening individuals at risk of functional decline in a timely manner and, with effective therapeutic procedures physiotherapists can successfully improve skills that are in decline. In the research on which the dissertation is based, we focused on two diagnostic tools and one therapeutic procedure. In this section the findings and contributions made will be summarised.
In S1 the adaptation of the BBS to Hungarian was developed and the clinimetrics of the adapted version were assessed. The novel results of the research with which we have provided the Hungarian physiotherapist profession show that the HU-BBS has as good psychometric properties as the original English and other national versions; therefore, it is possible to evaluate the data obtained from the Hungarian population in the light of the international literature. Furthermore, the role of Hungarian researchers in international research collaboration can be enhanced.
In S2 the clinical implementation of the Hungarian version of the FES-I questionnaire was presented. It has been validated earlier and can be used at ease to identify persons at risk of falling by physiotherapists as well. From the novel results of our research presented in S2 it is clear that older people with multiple chronic conditions and reduced functional mobility in particular should be identified and referred for further detailed investigation in order to engage them in timely targeted movement therapy for fall-prevention (and in cognitive-behavioural therapy if needed).
In S3 the effects of a multimodal exercise programme were assessed on gait parameters, on their variability, and on gait automaticity. It is worth highlighting our interesting novel findings revealed by S3: the multimodal programme developed for improving fitness indicators can also be used to improve gait parameters associated with the risk of falling at the same time. Consequently, our results cast a new light on how this multimodal exercise programme can improve gait safety and thus the functional capacity of older people.
