Trial reportPhysical therapy2020
Surface Perturbation Training to Prevent Falls in Older Adults: A Highly Pragmatic, Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in Physical therapy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Perturbation-based balance training on treadmills for falls prevention in older adults: a review of training protocols and reporting recommendations (ProRePBT).BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- Influence of Reactive Balance Training Program Characteristics on Reactive Balance Control and Fall Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Regression.Gerontology · 2026Pooled it
- Interventions for preventing falls in Parkinson's disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Perturbation-based Balance Training in Adults Aged Above 55 Years with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Comparison of Effects of WaterCurrent aging science · 2024Trial
- Utilizing mobile robotics for pelvic perturbations to improve balance and cognitive performance in older adults: a randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- The effect of perturbation-based balance training on balance control and fear of falling in older adults: a single-blind randomised controlled trial.BMC geriatrics · 2023Trial
- Effect of Treadmill Perturbation-Based Balance Training on Fall Rates in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- [A good stumbler doesn't fall! : Treadmill perturbation-based balance training in geriatric rehabilitation].Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2025Review
- Dose-response relationship of treadmill perturbation-based balance training for improving reactive balance in older adults at risk of falling: results of the FEATURE randomized controlled pilot trial.European review of aging and physical activity : official journal of the European Group for Research into Elderly and Physical Activity · 2025Article
- Effects of single-session perturbation-based balance training with progressive intensities on resilience and dynamic gait stability in healthy older adults.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025Article
- Design, Fabrication, and Validation of a Portable Perturbation Treadmill for Balance Recovery Research.Journal of medical devices · 2024Article
- Training Postural Balance Control with Pelvic Force Field at the Boundary of Stability.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Influence of Age and Physical Activity on Locomotor Adaptation.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Interventions and measurement instruments used for falls efficacy in community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review.Journal of frailty, sarcopenia and falls · 2022Review
- Article
- Perturbation-based balance training: Principles, mechanisms and implementation in clinical practice.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2022Review
- Measures of falls efficacy, balance confidence, or balance recovery confidence for perturbation-based balance training.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2022Article
- Falls efficacy: The self-efficacy concept for falls prevention and management.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFalls are the leading cause of injuries among older adults, and trips and slips are major contributors to falls.
objectiveThe authors sought to compare the effectiveness of adding a component of surface perturbation training to usual gait/balance training for reducing falls and fall-related injury in high-risk older adults referred to physical therapy.
designThis was a multi-center, pragmatic, randomized, comparative effectiveness trial.
settingTreatment took place within 8 outpatient physical therapy clinics. PATIENTS: This study included 506 patients 65+ years of age at high fall risk referred for gait/balance training.
interventionThis trial evaluated surface perturbation treadmill training integrated into usual multimodal exercise-based balance training at the therapist's discretion versus usual multimodal exercise-based balance training alone. MEASUREMENTS: Falls and injurious falls were assessed with a prospective daily fall diary, which was reviewed via telephone interview every 3 months for 1 year.A total of 211/253 (83%) patients randomized to perturbation training and 210/253 (83%) randomized to usual treatment provided data at 3-month follow-up. At 3 months, the perturbation training group had a significantly reduced chance of fall-related injury (5.7% versus 13.3%; relative risk 0.43) but no significant reduction in the risk of any fall (28% versus 37%, relative risk 0.78) compared with usual treatment. Time to first injurious fall showed reduced hazard in the first 3 months but no significant reduction when viewed over the entire first year. LIMITATIONS: The limitations of this trial included lack of blinding and variable application of interventions across patients based on pragmatic study design.
conclusionThe addition of some surface perturbation training to usual physical therapy significantly reduced injurious falls up to 3 months posttreatment. Further study is warranted to determine the optimal frequency, dose, progression, and duration of surface perturbation aimed at training postural responses for this population.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.