The effectiveness of exercises on fall and fracture prevention amongst community elderlies: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Summary Question What is the effectiveness of exercise interventions on falls and fall-related fracture prevention among community-dwelling elderlies? Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Participants Community-dwelling elderlies older than 60 years old. Intervention Physical exercises. Outcome measures The primary outcomes were falls and fractures. Results Twelve studies were included and 4784 participants were involved with a mean age of 75.4. The most common exercise interventions were strength and balance exercises. The results of meta-analysis of 11 studies showed that exercise intervention had beneficial effect on fall prevention (RR ​= ​0.71, 95% CI, 0.62–0.82; I2 ​= ​24%, p ​ Conclusion Exercise interventions, especially the combination of strength and balance training, were effective in preventing falls. Resistance exercises and jumping exercises were effective for fracture prevention among community-dwelling older population. The effectiveness of exercise interventions on fracture prevention have more significant effect on women. Further studies are needed to test the effectiveness of exercise interventions in men.