INTRODUCTION: Many frail elderly experience profound difficulties when executing postural shifts, whereas around half of those who have sustained an incidental fall find it impossible to get up again unassisted, despite not having suffered any injuries. STUDY AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of physical rehabilitation regimens in improving individual capabilities of the frail elderly for executing postural shifts safely and coping after sustaining an incidental fall. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study lasted 12 weeks and embraced 80 subjects (53 F, 27M; mean age 86 years) randomly split into two groups (group I = 48, group II = 32). Group I was assigned an intensive rehabilitation covering multi-sensory training and assorted back-chaining method exercises, whereas group II followed a variety of standard exercises and made use of the conventional teaching method in rising after fall. The Time Up and Go test was applied to assess individual mobility and capacity to cope after an incidental fall. The results were subsequently assessed with a t-Student test and non-parametric Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvement was noted in group I (p < 0.05) in the Time Up and Go test score (mean time 24.5 sec versus 19.2 sec), whereas all results in group II clearly lacked statistical significance. Only group I showed a significant improvement of individual capability for rising after an incidental fall, ie, 17 to 25% of the subjects (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: A weekly, 150 min long, physical rehabilitation routine comprising inter alia multi-sensory training is believed to offer tangible benefits in aiding execution of safe postural shifts and individual walking capabilities, whereas the backward chaining method, especially when combined with multi-sensory training, is highly recommendable to all frail elderly at high risk of fall.

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