Terapia vestibular como herramienta preventiva en las alteraciones de marcha y equilibrio en adultos mayores.

Abstract

As we age, several physiological changes occur. The visual, somatosensory, and vestibular systems are often affected by increasing age, decreasing their effectiveness in balance coordination. Falls are highly prevalent and have become a major public health problem due to the high economic and functional costs they represent for older adults. Objective: To determine the effectiveness of vestibular therapy in preventing and altering gait and balance in older adults without a diagnosis of vestibular pathology for the prevention of falls. Materials and methods: In the present research work, a type of quantitative analysis was carried out with a descriptive and correlational approach since it sought to observe and measure the changes that older adults presented in terms of gait and balance. The data were collected at the Dr. Arsenico de la Torre Marcillo Gerontological Center, located in Ecuador, where a population of 50 older adults were served. Sessions were carried out (3 times a week with a duration of 8 weeks) where habituation exercises, gaze stabilization, walking with obstacles, position changes and balance activities on unstable surfaces were developed. Results: Improvement was observed in terms of independence according to the Barthel index; in terms of the risk of falls, a decrease of >7 from the initial figure was demonstrated according to the Tinetti table. This affectation drops to 28 out of a total of 50 with moderate risks of falling, a total of 2 patients with high risk of falling and a total of 20 people with low risk of falls. Also, a total of 22 people with a positive Tandem test and 28 with a negative tandem test, evidencing the improvement in the application of the proposed exercises. Conclusion: Vestibular therapy is a very useful tool to improve stability and balance in people with vestibular difficulties.