Correlation between concerns about falling and functional muscle fitness in community elderly

Abstract

Introduction: In order to establish a correlation between the concern about falling and a more comprehensive functional parameter, functional muscle fitness, a variable that encompasses functional components such as balance, muscle strength, power, flexibility and motor coordination in an itegrated way, appears as a alternative. Functional muscle fitness is measured using the sit and stand of the floor test (TSL), a simple, safe, fast and ecological test. Objective: The research aimed to verify the correlation between the concern about falling and the functional muscle fitness of the elderly. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study. The sample consisted of 53 elderly people of both sexes (86.8% women; 65.6 ± 4.7 years; body mass index 28,5±3,8 kg/m²), being assessed for concern with falling (through Falls Efficacy Scale International, FES-I-Brazil) and functional muscle fitness (through TSL). Correlation analysis was performed using the Spearman test. For all analyzes, a significance level of 5% (p <0.05) was established. Results: The concern with falling showed a negative correlation with functional muscle fitness (rho = -0.229; p = 0.015). Conclusion: Elderly people with lower levels of functional muscle fitness have a higher level of concern about falling.

Keywords: Aged. Concern about falling. Functional muscle fitness. Physical fitness.