Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the effect of neuromuscular training on the risk of falling in institutionalized older adults in the city of Talca. Methodology: a randomized, single-blind randomized controlled trial, a non-probabilistic, intentional sample of 33 subjects (17 men and 16 women) from long-stay centers in the city of Talca, a neuromuscular training program of 12 was applied. weeks, 3 times a week. The evaluations were made at the beginning and at the end of the training. Anthropometric variables (weight, height, BMI), physiological variables (SBP, DBP, SO2), fall risk and physical-cognitive functional capacities (depression, fear of falling, self-perception of physical condition and physical independence, muscular strength, flexibility, etc.) were evaluated. aerobic resistance and stability). Statistics: The normality of the data was by Shapiro-Wilk test. The anthropometric and physiological differences were determined by t test for independent samples. The differences in fall risk and their functional covariates were calculated using Ancova. In all cases, a p <0.05 was adopted. The calculations were made in SPSS 22. Results: of the total subjects, 60% were men and 40% were women. The average age was 74 years (SD: 67 - 81). There were no significant differences between the groups for the anthropometric and physiological variables (p <0.05). There were significant differences in the variation of the risk of falling, as well as in the physical-cognitive covariables (p <0.05). The R2 of the model was 0.88. Conclusions: neuromuscular training significantly decreased the risk of falling in institutionalized older adults mediated by significant changes in their physical-cognitive functional capacities. These results suggest to incorporate this modality of training in a regular way to keep them potentially active and in this way, preserve their state of health. Key words: neuromuscular training, prevention, falls older adults.