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Baltimore retiree and 30-year U.S. Army veteran David Webber has had so many falls, he said, “I stopped keeping track.” He’s fallen down stairs, while vacuuming, on a ladder and off a deck.

One day he received a letter from Veterans Affairs asking for volunteers in a fall-prevention study. “I answered right away,” he said.

After 12 weeks of exercise classes at the VA in Loch Raven, Webber became stronger and more confident.

“I’m pleased to say that since I’ve done the physical training, I haven’t had one fall. I’ve had near falls, but I’ve been able to recover.

“That’s all due to the physical therapists that are there and really good coaches. They’ve got these amazing obstacle courses and really good exercises,” Webber said.

Webber was one of dozens of participants in a study under way at VA Maryland Health Care System’s Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. The study is designed to strengthen the hip muscles, which weaken as we age.

Dr. Odessa Addison, a physical therapist and research health scientist at the center who is overseeing the study, has devoted much of her research career to helping older adults.

“When people fall as they get older, they actually fall in a backwards direction,” she explained, because of weakening hip muscles.

That’s why her team designed a study to see if strengthening those hip muscles, with and without electrical stimulation, can prevent falls.

Classes, camaraderie

Three times a week, participants come in for a one-hour class. For 20 minutes, they practice balancing, and for 10 minutes, they do an obstacle course.

“We find that people really enjoy it,” Addison said. “We like to use a class format because we think that the group camaraderie experience is helpful, both in pushing them and also getting them to keep coming back. There’s a little bit of a natural competitive spark that happens when they see somebody [else].”

Some participants will get an extra boost during the exercises. Addison’s team will fit them with a small device that provides a subtle electrical buzz — a neural muscular electrical stimulation (NMES) — that causes their muscles to contract a bit more.

“Our theory is if we add that little extra contraction, it’s just making those muscles that much stronger, and that will help to prevent a fall,” Addison explained.

She also noted that the device is painless — and a potential game-changer.

“What we’re hoping to learn is if this added electrical stimulation while training the hips helps to decrease the risk of falls. And if that’s true, then in the future, this is a really easy way that we could train a lot of people to prevent falls.”

The classes last 12 weeks, and then participants are given exercises to continue at home. Addison’s team of researchers will keep in touch with participants for a full 15 months, checking in periodically to see how they’re doing.

‘Haven’t fallen since’

Air Force veteran Raymond Payne, who served in Vietnam, also benefitted from the study.

“I had problems falling. When it happens, you feel kind of embarrassed. Sometimes you would turn around to look, and your feet wouldn’t go with you and next thing you know, you’re on the ground.”

So, he attended the exercise classes. It was a great group of people, he said, and he learned a lot of tactics to use in daily life. Furthermore, “I haven’t fallen since I was in the study,” he added.

If you’re a U.S. veteran at least 55, and feel you’re at risk of falling, you can volunteer for Addison’s clinical trial.

“Even if [people] are just afraid of falling, that really impacts how they move. The less people move, the more they’re at risk,” Addison said.

Webber, who wasn’t part of the group that used the electrical devices, has continued to improve his strength and balance at home.

“I’m now doing things I could not do before,” he said.

If you are a U.S. veteran and want more information about this study, called Reducing Fall Risk with NMES, call (410) 605-7179.