Otago Exercise Program Delivery using Digital Practice: A Prospective Case Report

Abstract

Abstract Activity restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic left many older adults without access to community-based falls prevention programs. Despite a lack of evidence to support the digital delivery of exercise and rehabilitation, these services were quickly implemented during the pandemic in an effort to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, yet support a continuity of care. Our report describes the novel practice and digital delivery of a condensed Otago Exercise Program, a well-documented falls prevention program, to an 83-year-old female with high falls risk. After four weeks of the Otago Exercise Program via digital delivery, the patient in our case had notable improvement in her scores on the Timed Up and Go, Five Times Sit to Stand, 30-Second Chair Stand Test and One Leg Stance tests. Our findings necessitate the additional exploration of the digital delivery of exercise for future community-based falls prevention programs and provide an alternate method of delivery for falls prevention for practitioners to consider.