• Share

PRINT

As we age, falling is not only more likely but more dangerous. A bad fall can lead to death or permanent damage.

About 38 million older Americans — one out of four older adults — suffer a fall each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The majority of them survive, but many never fully recover.

“The number-one cause of injurious death to older adults is falling,” said Jeff Beans, exercise physiologist at Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center at the Baltimore Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center.

“The biggest problem [for fall survivors] is the loss of independence and loss of quality of life,” he added.

If you have had a serious fall in the past year — or have a fear of falling — a new exercise study at the Baltimore VA can help.

Open to U.S. veterans over age 55, the study seeks to determine if a muscle-stimulating device can enhance strengthening exercises and fend off falls.

The device, known as Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation, or NMES, stimulates muscles, causing them to contract involuntarily.

A soft pad will be attached to each hip during in-person exercise classes. The wearer will feel a sensation that is similar to an eye twitch, said Beans, who has tested the NMES pads himself.

“We’re supplementing the body’s natural electrical stimulus,” Beans explained. “It’s not painful. It feels funny, and it tickles sometimes.”

Exercise three times a week

Here’s how the study works: Once enrolled, participants will be given a few baseline tests and scans. They’ll undergo two short, painless scans — a CT scan and a DEXA scan, the latter of which measures bone density.

Then they’ll start attending a one-hour exercise class three times a week for three months. Finally, they’ll take the same tests and scans again to compare results.

As for the electrical device, half of the participants will be randomized into a group that will wear hip pads during the exercise classes; the other half will not.

No matter what group they’re in, every volunteer will receive the same top-notch exercise training from “some of the best trained staff on the planet,” Beans said.

“There’s no better trained group of exercise professionals in the area than we have in the VA.”

During each class, veterans will do about 30 minutes of balance exercises, followed by strengthening moves and a 10-minute session on the gym’s obstacle course, where they can “navigate real-life experiences,” Beans said, including steps and corners.

“We can adjust to each person’s function,” he said. And if you use a cane or walker, you can use that during classes.

The classes can benefit anyone, Beans said, and researchers are excited to figure out more ways to prevent falls in the older population.

“It could benefit science so we can better treat patients at risk for falls and allow them to live the life they wish to — their best life,” Beans said.

Two class locations available

You can choose to go to one of two VA centers for the tests, scans and exercise classes: the Baltimore VA Medical Center downtown or the Baltimore VA Annex and VA Loch Raven Outpatient Center in Loch Raven. Free parking is available at both locations.

Veterans can receive up to $225 for their participation. People who are on home oxygen or have dementia aren’t eligible.

The full name of the NMES study is “Reducing Fall Risk with the use of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation to Maximize the Hip Abductor Muscles in Older Veterans.” For more information or to enroll in the study, call (410) 605-7179.