The effect of whole body Electromyostimulation exercises on improving dynamic balance, static balance, self-efficacy and fear of fallingin the elderly

Reducing the ability to maintain balance isone of the consequencesof old age, which will increase the number of falls in this segment of the society and, finally, increase the cost of maintaining and treating them.the main aim of thepresent study was to investigate the effect of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS)on improving balance, self-efficacy and fearof falling in the elderly.Methodology:The study was of semi-experimental typeand the research design included pre-test and post-test in both training andcontrol groups.The statistical population of this research was 20 elderly women from Mashhad voluntarily and according to the objectives of thestudy. After selection, people were randomly divided into two training groups and control group.FES-1questionnaire wasused tomeasure the fearof falling, Fullertonand Biodex were used to measure dynamicand static balance,andSEEA questionnaire was used to measure self-efficacy in two phases: pre-test and post-test.The exercises were performed for8weeks and two 20-minute sessions per week in3 training phases.After that, both groups participated in the post-test as in the pre-test. Multivariate Analysis of Covariance was used to investigate intra-group and inter-group changes at a significance level of less than 500 using Spss version 24 software. The findings showed that EMS has a significant effect on improving the isodynamic balance of the elderly (p ≥ 0.05).the findings showed that EMS has no significant effect on self-efficacy and fear of falling in the elderly (p≤0.05).
Conclusion: According to the findings, trainers and caregivers can use EMS in a safe and healthy way in order to improve the balance and movement independence of elderly women.