Purpose: Falls are commonly in the elderly, with hip or ankle impairments as potentially contributing causes. The purpose of this research was to determine if short duration hip or ankle interventions designed to increase range of motion (ROM) and strength, could improve range and strength of those joints, as well as impact balance and gait outcomes. Methods: Well elderly vounteers recruited from retirement communities and senior citizen centers were randomly assigned to a hip or ankle intervention group. Both groups performed a home exercise program (HEP) of stretching 5 days a week and strengthening 3 times a week for 8 weeks consisting or either hip or ankle stretching and strengthening dependent upon their group assignment. Strength and range measures were repeated twice and ICCs calculated. The upper limit of the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the standard error of the measurement (SEM) of the pretest data was set as the criterion for improvement. Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test was used to determined if there were differences between pretest and posttest measurements within each group. Mann Whitney-U tests were used to determine if there were differences between groups on change scores. Post hoc analyses of subgroups were also done. Results: Thirty-five subjects completed the exercise program. None of the group outcomes met the criterion for clinically relevant change.
