Background: The population the world is moving towards aging in recent years. The present study aims to compare the effects of eight weeks of combined intervention (SAIL exercises and Kinesio taping) and Kinesio taping on fear of falling, functional independence and quality of life of the elderly.
Methods: In this experimental study, 24 elderly people were selected by simple sampling. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of the two combined intervention and Kinesio taping groups. Before and after eight weeks of intervention, fear of falling (Falls Efficacy Scale - International), functional independence (Barthel Questionnaire) and quality of life (OPQOL-35 Questionnaire) were measured in the two combined intervention and Kinesio taping groups. The data of this study were analyzed using Paired t and Independent t-tests and SPSS software.
Findings: After the intervention, fear of falling, functional independence, and quality of life improved significantly in both groups (p < 0.05). Also, a significant difference was observed for the measured variables between the combined intervention and the Kinesio taping (p < 0.05). Regarding fear of falling, 33%, functional independence 31%, and quality of life 51% improvement was seen in the combined intervention group compared to the Kinesio taping group.
Conclusion: Both the combined intervention and Kinesio taping alone were able to produce significant improvements in the variables of fear of falling, functional independence, and quality of life in the elderly, but in comparison, the combined intervention produced greater improvements.