Posters for 3rd World Falls Congress 2026

Introduction: Perturbation-based balance training is a promising approach for reducing fall risk in older adults, yet evidence is largely based on laboratory or clinical interventions. To facilitate translation to community settings, we studied the effectiveness of a single-session, low-cost, accessible perturbation training by examining pre-post differences in falls over a year in older adults. Methods: One hundred community-dwelling older adults (age 75.3 ± 7.5 years; 67% female) participated. Perturbations (n=32) were delivered via a waist-mounted, cable-driven system that pulled

Introduction Older people who fall often do not present to health services, even if injured, but this is difficult to quantify. Methods When all participants in the Cambridge City over-75s Cohort, a representative population-based study of ageing, were aged over 90 prospective falls data collection successfully followed-up 96% of survivors for one year (20 men and 90 women aged 91-105, 18% in care). Participants or proxy informants returned weekly falls calendars and were re-interviewed after all reported falls regarding circumstances, consequences and whether they told anyone about that fall

Introduction Fractures of the cervical spine and neck of femur (NOF) represent a high burden of injury and mortality in the elderly population. Disability adjusted life years lost (DALY) is a measure of how many years of full health are lost across a population due to an injury. Methods Retrospectively 51 patients aged 65 or over that had sustained a cervical spine fracture were identified through ED coding between January 2023 and December 2023. Outcome data on 551 patients aged 65 or over that had sustained a NOF fracture was collected via the National Hip Fracture database for 2023. Local

Introduction Many falls in older adults occur during walking, particularly when responding to sudden gait perturbations such as slips or trips. Although automatic gait perturbation detection with wearable devices has been demonstrated in controlled datasets, it often remains uncertain whether such models generalize to unseen data. This study examines whether a pre-trained deep convolutional long short-term memory (DeepConvLSTM) algorithm, can generalize to an older participant group with a history of falls and to a different perturbation protocol. Method This sub-analysis used data from an

Background: Reactive balance training using repeated perturbations may reduce falls, however, training methods are not easily replicated or translatable to clinical settings. This study aimed to examine the effects of a novel reactive balance training program on balance recovery from laboratory induced trips and slips and fall risk factors in older people using simple and low-cost equipment. Methods: We conducted a randomised controlled trial involving 88 older people. An intervention group (n = 43) received the ReacStep program which involved tether-release reactive stepping and intentional

INTRODUCTION Oral bisphosphonates are widely prescribed for fracture prevention. Their efficacy is dependent on adherence to administration guidance. A British Geriatrics Society (BGS) review highlighted that incorrect administration provides minimal or no fracture protection, particularly in frail or hospitalised patients (1,2). Despite this, oral bisphosphonates are frequently prescribed or continued during inpatient admissions where correct administration may be challenging. Our aim was to assess multidisciplinary knowledge, local administration practice, and patient recall of

Introduction Stair falls cause major morbidity and mortality in older adults. Despite this, stair-focused recommendations are lacking from the 2022 World Falls Guidelines. We aimed to characterise environmental risk factors and consequences of home stair falls and near-falls, and demographics of older adults reporting them. Method Co-designed online survey of adults ≥60 years in England (N=194). Respondents provided demographics, indices of multiple deprivation (IMD), concern about falling, and injury outcomes for home falls/near-falls over two years. This analysis focuses on the stair/step

Introduction Parkinson’s medications are time critical and delays of over 30 minutes can increase the risk of harm to patients. Complications range from physical deconditioning, with associated risk of prolonged hospital stay or aspiration pneumonia to neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Inspired by Parkinson’s UK ‘Get it on Time’ campaign, we sought to improve administration of Parkinson’s medications to within 30 minutes of prescription time in at least 80% of patients at York Hospital. Method Parkinson’s patients on medical wards in York Hospital were continuously audited across May, June and

Background: Low-cost inside‑out wearable trackers can be deployed at scale to measure body motion. However, errors in the estimated sensor position and orientation can propagate into coordinate transformations and affect derived metrics such as gait parameters and measures of dynamic stability. Methods: Healthy adults walked on a treadmill at 0.5–2.0 m/s while VIVE Ultimate Tracker (VUT) and Vicon data were recorded. Data-driven calibration models were developed to correct tracker coordinates and estimate the full-body centre of mass (CoM) from a sacrum-only configuration. Agreement with Vicon

Background Falls are one of the most common secondary complications after stroke. Clinical guidelines do not include a falls prevention programme addressing the specific needs of stroke survivors. A falls prevention intervention called Action Falls has reduced fall rates in care home residents and could be effective for stroke survivors. The FISS trials in Australia and the UK aim to evaluate whether implementing the Stroke Action Falls programme helps in reducing fall rates among stroke survivors at home in the 12 months after discharge from hospital, and if it is more cost-effective compared

Introduction: Treadmill-based perturbation training (PBT) simulates gait perturbations and trains reactive dynamic balance responses under safe conditions and can reduce falls in daily life of older adults. Electrodermal activity (EDA) responses, an indicator of emotional arousal, decreases across six perturbations in young, healthy adults, suggesting adaptation. EDA was not yet measured during perturbed walking in older adults or across multiple sessions. Hence, the EDA trajectory during PBT and conventional treadmill training (CTT) in older adults with and without cognitive impairment (CI)

Background: Older adults presenting to the emergency department (ED) after a fall who are discharged home are at increased risk of subsequent falls and functional decline. Although they represent a substantial proportion of ED visits, this population is highly heterogeneous with respect to health status, preferences, and risk profiles. This heterogeneity complicates the allocation of appropriate secondary prevention strategies, particularly under constraints of limited healthcare resources. Data-driven risk stratification followed by targeted secondary prevention may help optimize care

Introduction: In 2024, fall-related injuries accounted for +/-10% of all hospital treatments in Luxembourg and fall-related mortality increased sharply after age 70. Beyond mortality, injuries burden individuals and healthcare systems. Aim: Estimate the age- and sex-specific differences of fall-related injuries, fractures and related hospitalisations in Luxembourg. Methods: Using RETRACE injury surveillance data, we analysed all 8,404 fall-related emergency department (ED) visits in 2018 of individuals ≥60 years in Luxembourg. We estimated age- and sex-specific differences of central body

Introduction: Stair falls are the leading cause of accidental death among older adults. A psychological factor that may contribute to unsafe stair negotiation is conscious movement processing (CMP), the tendency to consciously monitor and control movement execution. Higher CMP in older adults has been associated with prolonged stance and double-support times and less accurate foot placement during level ground stepping. Its role during stair negotiation and the influence of perceived stair steepness remains unclear. As an initial step, this study examined associations between CMP, perceived

Introduction 83 yo male who presented to hospital following 2 falls within a week. He had a background history of hiatus hernia. He was independent of all activities of daily living residing in sheltered, warden controlled accommodation. Upon presentation to hospital he given antibiotics for chest infection and had a mild acute kidney injury. His electrocardiogram showed a 2:1 AV block and he was transferred to a tertiary centre for a pacemaker Upon return to hospital he had a period of significant deconditioning coupled with orthostatic hypotension which hampered his ongoing rehabilitation

Introduction Strength and balance training are effective components of falls prevention. However, primary prevention often fails to reach those at highest risk, partly because individuals may not perceive a need to engage in preventive measures. Secondary prevention may overcome this barrier, as a recent severe fall, such as one requiring emergency department (ED) treatment, can heighten the perceived need for action. Nonetheless, implementing falls prevention into standard care poses challenges, such as adoption and adherence. This study aims to explore barriers and facilitators influencing

Background Myeloma is a condition of predominantly older adults. Treatment typically includes long term dexamethasone which affects bone health, nutrition and muscle integrity. Myeloma also causes secondary osteoporosis and lytic lesions. No previous studies describe falls risk factors in this cohort. We explore this and associations with frailty status in a tertiary joint Geriatrician & Haematologist Myeloma clinic. Methods 55 older adults (>65 years) completed a survey about balance concerns (Q1), fear of falling (Q2), falls in last year (Q3) and previous fractures (Q4), age and frailty

Falls are a leading cause of injury and disability in older adults. Yet, knowledge about their real-world patterns is still limited, despite successful efforts such as recorded videos of falls in long-term care residences (Robinovitch et al, Lancet, 2013) and recorded kinematics of falls using a single IMU sensor worn on the lower back (Farseeing project and related dataset, Klenk et al, Eur Rev Aging Phys Act, 2016). Still, no data on falls recorded with more than one sensor worn on multiple positions are available in the literature. During the DARE FALLSPREDICT-GP study (ongoing study in

Background Data has identified that the physiotherapy caseload on admission to an acute Older Persons Unit (OPU) is becoming more challenging over time. Admission Elderly Mobility Scores (EMS) have significantly reduced, patients require more physical assistance, and the ongoing shift in hospital focus from patient rehabilitation to patient flow alongside a stronger discharge to assess initiative has increased patient turnover. This has resulted in more demand for initial assessments, and higher numbers of rehabilitation patients being prioritised out due to team capacity. To counteract this

Introduction: Balance training is an evidence-based fall prevention intervention, and optimal dosage parameters (frequency, intensity, type, time) are essential for effectiveness in adults with balance impairments and fall risk. Evidence is limited on the dosage parameters clinicians use in practice. This study’s purpose was to determine the time spent in active exercise and balance-specific activities during routine physical therapy and examine if any patient characteristics predict time spent exercising. Methods: Trained researchers conducted real-time naturalistic observations of 135