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Falls are the most common danger for older adults. One in four people over age 65 falls each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some will be treated for their injuries, but some — 27,000 per year — will die.

Can certain exercises prevent falls for older adults with metabolic syndrome? A study by the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hopes to find out.

Based in downtown Baltimore, the 12 to 24-week study, titled “Metabolic Syndrome and Fall Risk,” is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. To qualify, you must be between the ages of 50 and 70 and have evidence of metabolic syndrome — a cluster of symptoms including high blood sugar, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and neuropathy, or nerve pain.

What the study entails

The initial screening session, which could take six to eight hours, includes a glucose intolerance test, blood work and a targeted neurological exam to test for neuropathy. It will also include a short balance test administered by a trained exercise physiologist.

Once selected, the 55 study participants will be randomly divided into two groups. The discussion group will meet weekly for a health-related talk about fall risks. The exercise group will attend a weekly exercise class and will be asked to do specific exercises at home three times a week.

The study will focus on the “Four Square Step Test,” a measure of dynamic standing balance with a fun twist. “A participant steps over four canes that are laid on the ground at 90-degree angles to each other. The participants stand in one of the squares formed by the canes and they are instructed to step as quickly as possible into each square in a specified sequence,” according to the study parameters.

“It’s a little bit like square dancing,” said Neda Ilieva, clinical research coordinator for the neuromuscular division of the University of Maryland Medical Center, which is conducting the study.

“The primary aim is to figure out if this exercise program, compared to the standard care group, is effective at reducing the fall risk as measured by the Four Square Step Test,” she said.

As for the exercises, they’re not terribly strenuous, Ilieva said. “I work with everyone one-on-one so we escalate the intensity each week and make sure the patient is being challenged.”

Patients who are in the discussion group are welcome to join the exercise group after their participation ends, she said.

Participants will be reimbursed for parking fees and will be compensated $25 for each of their three or four major visits to the university.

To learn more and to see if you qualify, contact Ilieva at inmed@som.umaryland.edu or call (410) 328-6583.