Falls are a major global public health challenge and a leading cause of severe consequences, such as fractures, traumatic brain injuries and even death among older adults. Older adults with knee osteoarthritis (KOA) are at a higher risk of falling and tend to experience more severe injuries due to impaired balance....
No actionable change — this is a published protocol for a trial not yet completed; audiologists and vestibular specialists should watch for results, as findings could inform exercise-based fall prevention strategies for patients with balance dysfunction.
If Baduanjin is confirmed to reduce fall risk via vestibular network modulation, it could open a low-cost, accessible adjunct intervention relevant to audiologists managing patients with vestibular disorders.
- 01The RCT will test Baduanjin (a traditional Chinese mind-body exercise) for fall risk reduction in knee osteoarthritis patients.
- 02The proposed mechanism is modulation of vestibular network functional connectivity in the brain.
- 03This is a study protocol (published in BMJ Open) — no results are available yet.
- 04Outcome measures include falls and measures of vestibular network brain connectivity.
- 05Findings could be relevant to vestibular rehabilitation and fall prevention in audiology.
Baduanjin exercise reduces fall risk in knee osteoarthritis patients by modulating vestibular network functional connectivity.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42336786
- DOI
- 10.1136/bmjopen-2025-114318.
- Journal
- BMJ Open
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 1b
- Population
- Patients with knee osteoarthritis at risk of falls
- Intervention
- Baduanjin exercise programme
- Comparator
- Control group (nature unspecified in protocol)
Primary outcomes
Fall risk reduction; Vestibular network functional connectivity changes measured by neuroimaging