| dc.description.abstract | Skeletal muscle dysfunction is one of the
extrapulmonary manifestations in patients with
chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD).
Quadriceps muscle strength plays an important role
in maintaining the postural stability of a human. The
objectives of the study were to determine the
incidence of falls and to identify the probability of
risk of falls among COPD patients in relation to
quadriceps muscle strength among patients who
presented to the National Hospital for Respiratory
Diseases, Welisara, and the Chest Clinic at the
Medical Research Institute, Sri Lanka. This
descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted
among 35 COPD patients between 40-60 years of
age. The quadriceps strengths of bilateral lower
limbs were measured using the one repetitionmaximum
(1RM) strength test and the incidence of
falls was assessed using an intervieweradministered
questionnaire. The test results
indicated a significant positive correlation between
the incidence of falls and right side 1RM (p=0.019,
r=0.395) and left side 1RM (p=0.033, r=0.362). The
results showed a significant positive relationship
between the probability of risk of falls and right side
1RM (p=0.030, r=0.601) and left side 1RM (p=0.040,
r=0.537). According to the results of the study, a
significantly positive correlation between the
incidence of falls and the quadriceps muscle
strength of COPD patients was identified. Further,
the results show an increase in the probability of
falls risk with the reduction of quadriceps muscle
strength. | en_US |
