The Addition of Active Stretching to Balance Strategy Exercise is the Most Effective as a Home-Based Exercise Program in Improving the Balance of the Elderly

BACKGROUND: The decreased balance in the elderly increases the risk of falling. An effective type of exercise is needed to improve balance for the elderly. AIMS: The purpose of this study was to determine the difference in the effectiveness of adding active stretching with dynamic stretching to balance strategy exercise as a home-based exercise program in improving the balance for the elderly. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: This research was a randomized control trial. The participants were 36 elderly selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, divided into three groups. Group 1 was given dynamic stretching exercises to balance strategy exercises, Group 2 was assigned active stretching exercises to balance strategy exercise, and Group 3 was given balance strategy exercise only as a control group. Each group was given different exercises three times a week for 6 weeks. The balance ability of the elderly is measured using a Berg balance scale (BBS). RESULTS: The mean difference scores of BBS before and after exercise with paired sample t-test increased in both groups with P < 0.05. It means that all groups had a significant impact, where the highest different score is in Group 2. The one-way ANOVA test showed a significant difference in the average posttest BBS value between the groups. Furthermore, the data were analyzed by the LSD post hoc test, where the results showed that all groups have significant differences against other groups (P < 0.05), with the best group being Group 2. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the addition of active stretching exercise to the balance strategy exercise as a home-based exercise program is the most effective in improving balance for the elderly.