Floor-hugging Intervention to Manage Fear of Falling by Increasing Floor Exposure and Teaching Floor-Rise Techniques in Adults

What this Trial Is About

Fear of falling is a widespread issue affecting people’s confidence in maintaining balance and avoiding falls. This fear can range from cautious avoidance to severe anxiety that limits daily activities, influenced by physical, psychological, social, and environmental factors. The unfamiliarity with floor-based activities in modern urban environments may worsen this fear by reducing mental and sensory familiarity with the floor and limiting physical strength needed to recover from falls. The Floor-Hugging Intervention (Floor-HI) is designed to reduce fear of falling by combining floor exposure and floor-rise strategies. The program involves learning how to safely get down to the floor using the backward chaining method, practicing lying on printed surfaces that simulate slippery or cluttered environments, and learning techniques to get back up from the floor based on individual balance abilities. Training sessions last one hour, three times a week, for three weeks. Participants will be assessed at four time points: baseline, pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up to measure fear of falling, balance, floor rising ability, fall frequency, and quality of life. They will record falls daily and complete questionnaires on intervention acceptability and any adverse events. The study aims to evaluate how Floor-HI affects psychological and physical aspects related to fear of falling and overall well-being.

Floor-hugging Intervention: Managing Fear of Falling Through Floor Exposure and Developing After-fall Contingency