ASSESSMENT OF POST-FRACTURE KINESIOPHOBIA AND FUNCTIONAL INDEPENDENCE IN GERIATRIC PATIENTS RECOVERING FROM DISTAL RADIUS FRAGILITY FRACTURES
Keywords:
Elderly patients with fracture, fear of movement, fear of fall, physical activity, quality of life, and older adults, etc.Abstract
Background
Around fifty-one to seventy-two percent of patients experience long-term pain, which directly leads to disability or causes impairment. In geriatric patients, the most important part in determining an individual's quality of life is to assess functional independence. It focuses on public health issues that directly impact individual quality of life and health services.
Objective
To determine the assessment of post-fracture kinesiophobia and functional independence in geriatric patients recovering from distal radius fragility fractures
Methodology
A cross-sectional study was conducted among the geriatric population from the orthopedic department of tertiary care hospitals in Karachi from February 2026 to August 2026. The sample size of 385 was calculated through Raosoft.com software. In this study, two validated tools were used to assess the level of kinesophobia through the Tampa Scale 11 (TSK-11) and to measure the functional level of the patients through the Functional Independence Measure scoring criteria. The analysis of data was done through SPSS version 23.0 software.
Result
A total of 385 research participants were included in this study. The prevalence of kinesiophobia was found to be 287 (74.54%) among the geriatric population. The fear of post-fracture kinesiophobia was found in 202(70.38%) and 85 (29.61%). The participants had a higher level of risk due to past accidents: 116(30.12%). The level of functional independence of these patients was moderate assistance, around 91(23.63%).
Conclusion
Kinesiophobia affects the quality of life of older adults who are recovering from fragility fractures of the radius bone.
