ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Bali Medical Journal (Bali MedJ) 2026.
Volume 15.
Number 1 : 25-32 P-ISSN.
E-ISSN: 2302-2914
Global research trends in physiotherapy for fall prevention among older adults:
a bibliometric analysis .
0Ae2.
Department of Health Informatics.
College of Public Health and Health Informatics.
University of Hail.
Hail.
Saudi Arabia Preventive Medicine Specialist.
National Guard Hospital.
Jeddah.
Saudi Arabia Physical Therapist.
Department of Physical Therapy.
Care Zone Center.
Medina.
Saudi Arabia Physical Therapist.
Department of Physical Therapy.
APhysiotherabia Clinic.
Medina.
Saudi Arabia Physical Therapist.
Department of Physical Therapy.
King Fahad Hospital.
Qassim.
Saudi Arabia Department of Physical Therapy.
College of Medical Rehabilitation.
Qassim University.
Al-Qassim.
Saudi Arabia Physical Therapist.
Department of Physical Therapy.
Al-Tamkeen Al-Shamel Center.
Jazan.
Saudi Arabia Department of Physical Therapy.
College of Medical Sciences.
King Khalid University.
Abha.
Saudi Arabia Physiotherapist.
Physiotherapy Department.
Armed Forces Hospital Ae Southern Region.
Khamis Mushait.
Saudi Arabia Physiotherapist.
Department of Physiotherapy.
Taibah University.
Madinah.
Saudi Arabia Registered Nurse.
Qatif Central Hospital.
Qatif.
Saudi Arabia Physiotherapist.
Physiotherapy Department.
Armed Forces Hospital Ae Southern Region.
Khamis Mushait.
Saudi Arabia Physiotherapy Specialist.
Department of Physiotherapy.
Armed Forces Hospital Ae Southern Region.
Khamis Mushait.
Saudi Arabia Department of Clinical Pharmacy.
College of Pharmacy.
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University.
Dammam.
Saudi Arabia Physiotherapist.
Physiotherapy Department.
Northern Armed Forces Hospital Region.
King Khalid Military City.
Hafr Al-Batin.
Saudi Arabia *Corresponding author:
Anas Ali Alhur.
Department of Health Informatics.
College of Public Health and Health Informatics.
University of Hail.
Hail.
Saudi Arabia.
alhur@gmail.
Received: 2025-11-10 Accepted: 2026-01-02 Published: 2026-01-26 Anas Ali AlhurA*.
Bashayr AlamriA.
Lama AlharbiA.
Sarah AlmalkiA.
Fatma AlharbiAA.
Fatma AlGofilieA.
Ghadi AlhussainA.
Hajar AlmahjariA.
Najla AlhadiA.
Rafal QarrasAA.
Rajaee AlbannayAA.
Mohammed AlQarniAA.
Renad AlamriAA.
Ruba AlzahraniAA.
Yousef Almutairia
ABSTRACT
Background: Falls are a significant cause of injury, disability, and loss of independence among older adults Physiotherapy-based interventions play a central role in fall prevention.
however, the global research structure, thematic evolution, and collaborative patterns in this field have not been systematically mapped.
This study aims to conduct a large-scale bibliometric analysis of international research explicitly related to physiotherapy for fall prevention among older adults from 2000 to 2025.
Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the OpenAlex database to identify peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2000 and 2025.
Eligible studies focused on physiotherapy or rehabilitation interventions for fall prevention in adults aged Ou65 years.
Only English-language human studies were included.
Bibliometric analyses were performed using the bibliometrix package in R and visualised using VOSviewer.
Publication trends, citation patterns, co-authorship networks, keyword co-occurrence, and co-citation clusters were analysed.
ARIMA
models were applied to forecast publication and citation trends.
Results: A total of 963 articles were included.
Annual publications increased steadily, with a marked rise after 2018 and a peak in 2025.
The most productive countries were the United States, the United Kingdom.
Canada, and Australia, supported by strong international collaboration networks.
Keyword and co-citation analyses identified 14 thematic clusters, with dominant themes including balance and strength training, gait rehabilitation, frailty management.
Otago-based programmes, and emerging digital and tele-rehabilitation approaches.
Forecasting indicated sustained publication output through 2030, although annual citation growth is expected to stabilise.
Conclusion: Physiotherapy-focused fall-prevention research has expanded substantially over the past 25 years, with increasing thematic diversity and global collaboration.
Core research remains centred on exercise-based interventions, while newer studies emphasise technology-supported and community-based models of care.
These findings provide a comprehensive overview of the field and inform future research, policy, and clinical practice.
Keywords: balance training.
bibliometric analysis.
fall prevention.
older adults.
Cite This Article: Alhur.
Alamri.
Alharbi.
Almalki.
Alharbi.
AlGofilie.
Alhussain.
Almahjari.
Alhadi.
Qarras.
Albannay.
AlQarni.
Alamri.
Alzahrani.
Almutairi.
Global research trends in physiotherapy for fall prevention among older adults: a bibliometric analysis .
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Bali Medical Journal 15.
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DOI: 10.
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INTRODUCTION
Falls are a significant public health concern among older adults and represent one of the leading causes of injury, hospitalization, and loss of independence worldwide.
Approximately one in three individuals aged 65 years and above experiences at least one fall annually, and many of these incidents result in fractures, disability, or long-term functional decline.
1,2 As global life expectancy increases, the burden of fall-related injuries continues to rise, placing substantial pressure on healthcare systems and communities.
Physiotherapy plays a central role in fall prevention, particularly through interventions that target balance, strength, gait, and functional mobility.
Evidence Open Bali Medical Journal 15.
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indicates that structured physiotherapy programs, such as balance training, resistance exercises, and multidimensional rehabilitation, can significantly reduce fall risk and improve physical performance in older adults.
4Ae6 Multicomponent approaches, including the Otago Exercise Programme and other home-based or clinic-based regimens, have shown notable ORIGINAL ARTICLE effectiveness in reducing recurrent falls and enhancing self-efficacy.
Research activity in this domain has expanded over the last two decades, driven by demographic aging, advances in geriatric rehabilitation, and increasing recognition of falls as a preventable public health issue.
Recent studies have also explored emerging themes such as frailty, fear of falling, digital and telerehabilitation, models of care.
9Ae12 Despite this growth, a comprehensive understanding of the global research structure, thematic evolution, and collaborative patterns physiotherapy-based fallprevention literature remains limited.
Bibliometric analysis offers an effective method for mapping scientific output, identifying influential authors and institutions, and revealing conceptual trends within a field.
13Ae18 By analyzing publication patterns, citation structures, and keyword networks, bibliometric techniques help clarify how research has evolved over time and highlight emerging areas of interest.
To our knowledge, no bibliometric study has systematically examined global research trends explicitly related to physiotherapy for fall prevention among older adults.
This study aims to fill this gap by conducting a large-scale bibliometric analysis of publications from 2000 to 2025.
Using data extracted from the OpenAlex database, we investigated publication trends, leading contributors, thematic clusters, global collaborations, and citation dynamics.
The findings provide an updated overview of scientific progress in this area and offer insight into future directions for research, policy, and clinical METHODS Data Source and Search Strategy This bibliometric analysis utilized the OpenAlex database to investigate publication trends, leading contributors, thematic clusters, global collaborations, and citation dynamics regarding fall prevention in older adults.
The data collection focused on peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and To ensure the reliability of the dataset, only original research articles and systematic reviews were included, while grey literature, conference proceedings, editorials, letters, and protocols were To define the scope specifically within the domain of physiotherapy, eligible records were required to meet specific content criteria: .
the inclusion of keywords such as Auphysiotherapy,Ay Auphysical therapy,Ay Auexercise therapy,Ay Aurehabilitation,Ay Aubalance training,Ay or Augait trainingAy in the title or abstract.
publication within designated physiotherapy or rehabilitation-focused Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria The study strictly included Englishlanguage publications focusing on human populations aged 65 years and older.
excluded non-human or laboratory-based studies, as well as non-English documents.
To maintain thematic precision, studies addressing fall prevention without a clear physiotherapy or rehabilitation componentAisuch as those focusing solely on pharmacological management, general medical risk profiling, or robotics and engineering without clinical applicationAi were removed from the dataset to prevent thematic drift.
All included records required a complete citation and bibliographic metadata for analysis.
Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization All bibliometric analyses were conducted using the bibliometrix package in the R software environment .
evaluate temporal growth and research impact, we calculated annual publication counts and analyzed citation dynamics, including annual trends, cumulative citations, and citation bursts.
The conceptual structure of the field was explored through keyword co-occurrence analysis of both author keywords and indexed terms.
Furthermore.
VOSviewer was utilized to visualize complex network This included mapping collaboration networks across authors, institutions, and countries, as well as generating thematic Finally, co-citation and clustering analyses were performed to delineate the intellectual structure and identify distinct thematic groupings within the existing Counting Method and Sensitivity Analysis Country- and institution-level analyses were primarily conducted using complete counting, whereby each contributing country or institution received one full credit per publication.
To assess robustness, a fractional counting sensitivity analysis was also performed for multi-country and multi-institution papers.
As both approaches produced comparable ranking patterns, only full-counting results are presented in the main tables.
Forecasting Analysis Future trends in publications and citations were projected using AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) Forecasts were generated through 2030 and visualised alongside observed The Prophet model was explored as a supplementary approach to confirm trend
RESULT
A total of 963 journal articles related to physiotherapy fall-prevention among older adults published between 2000 and 2025 were identified (Table .
The thematic evolution analysis showed three distinct periods.
From 2000 to 2010, work centered on fundamental issues such as fall risk and balance training.
Between 2011 and 2018, the field broadened to include topics in geriatrics, public health, psychology, and nursing.
From 2019 to 2025, themes shifted toward emergency care, population health, and digitally supported rehabilitation methods (Table The annual number of publications on physiotherapy-related fall-prevention increased steadily over the 25-year period (Figure .
Output remained modest in the early 2000s, with fewer than 15 papers per year, followed by gradual growth A sharper rise was observed from 2011 to 2018, with publications climbing from approximately 16 to nearly 50 per year.
The most pronounced expansion occurred after 2018, reaching 79 publications in 2019.
Despite minor fluctuations between 2020 and 2024, the overall upward trend continued, with a substantial peak in 2025 .
, marking the highest volume in the dataset.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Table 1.
Comprehensive summary of findings Category Key Findings Dataset Size 963 journal articles related to physiotherapy fall-prevention in older adults .
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Publication Trend Steady growth from 2000 onward, with a peak in 2025.
Forecast suggests continued increase through 2030 (ARIMA).
Top Journals Physical Therapy.
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Disability and Rehabilitation.
European Geriatric Medicine, and Nature Reviews Endocrinology.
Most Productive Authors International rehabilitation, and emergency medicine.
Top Contributing Countries United States.
United Kingdom.
Canada.
Australia.
China, and multicountry collaborations .
trong network.
Top Institutions Leading universities and geriatric research centers in the U.
Canada, and Europe.
major clinical hospitals are represented.
Keyword Hotspots (Top Concept.
Physical therapy, medicine, injury prevention, gerontology, nursing, public health, psychology, balance, gait, and fall risk.
Keyword Clusters (Thematic Ma.
Distinct clusters emerged: .
Rehabilitation & physiotherapy core, .
Geriatrics/aging/frailty, .
BalanceAegaitAemobility, .
Public health & injury prevention, .
Emergency and acute-care falls.
Thematic Evolution 2000Ae2010: foundational work on fall risk and balance training.
2011Ae 2018: expansion into geriatrics, public health, nursing, and psychology.
2019Ae2025: integration of emergency medicine, population health, and digital/tele-rehabilitation.
Global Collaboration Map Strong co-authorship networks with hubs in the U.
, and Canada.
cross-continental partnerships observed.
Citation Bursts Key high-impact papers showed sharp recent citation growth (Z-score Co-Citation Network Multiple intellectual clusters identifiedAicore foundational works center around physiotherapy protocols, fall-prevention programs (Otag.
, and gerontology literature.
Bibliographic Coupling Emerging clusters reflect new research directions, including telerehabilitation, outpatient care, and frailty management.
Cluster Summary (Co-Citatio.
Each cluster shows a dominant high-degree foundational work, strong internal connectivity, and apparent thematic coherence.
Forecast .
Both publication and citation output are projected to rise steadily over the next five years.
This pattern indicates sustained and accelerating scientific interest in fallprevention research over time.
As shown in Figure 2, the analysis identified a wide distribution of author contributions within physiotherapy fallprevention research.
Jennifer L.
Vincenzo and Christopher M.
Wilson emerged as the most productive authors, each with approximately ten publications.
They were followed by Christine Kilgore and Sara Arena, who also produced a notable volume of work.
A group of additional contributorsAiincluding Jennifer Brach.
Oliveira de Lima Keite, and Sarah LambAiauthored between five and seven publications, reflecting sustained engagement in areas such as balance training, gerontology, and rehabilitation.
The remaining authors listed in the figure contributed four to six publications, indicating that the field is supported by a broad international authorship base rather than being dominated by a small number of researchers.
As illustrated in Figure 3, the United States dominates publication output in physiotherapy fall-prevention research, contributing more than 1,000 articlesAi far exceeding all other countries.
The United Kingdom follows as the secondlargest contributor, with a substantial Bali Medical Journal 2026.
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but comparatively smaller output.
Brazil.
Ireland, and India form the next tier of publishing countries, each showing moderate research activity.
Additional contributions come from Australia.
Canada.
Poland.
Italy.
France.
Japan, and Germany, all of which demonstrate consistent engagement in the field.
Several other countriesAiincluding Turkey.
Spain.
Portugal.
Ukraine.
Singapore.
Saudi Arabia.
Greece, and IndonesiaAicontribute smaller yet meaningful numbers of publications, indicating growing global Overall, the figure highlights a geographically diverse research base, with strong representation from North America.
Europe, and emerging input from Asia and South America.
As shown in Figure 4, cumulative citations for physiotherapy fall-prevention research have increased sharply over the past two decades, reflecting expanding scholarly influence.
Early citation growth between 2000 and 2005 was gradual, but a marked acceleration began around 2006Ae2010, coinciding with several widely cited foundational studies.
A substantial jump is observed around 2010, after which citations continued to rise steadily each By 2025, cumulative citations exceed 11,000.
As illustrated in Figure 5, highfrequency keywords reveal the central themes shaping physiotherapy fallprevention research.
The most prominent terms include medicine, physical therapy, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, highlighting the clinical foundation of this field.
Strong representation of terms such as gerontology, psychology, internal medicine, and nursing reflects the multidisciplinary nature of fall-prevention Keywords linked to functional outcomesAisuch as balance ability, injury prevention, rehabilitation, and gait.
As shown in Figure 6, the thematic keyword map illustrates a dense and interconnected network representing the conceptual structure of physiotherapy fallprevention research.
Several clear thematic areas emerge.
A central cluster is formed around physiotherapy, rehabilitation, balance, and gaitAiindicating the core clinical focus of the field.
Surrounding this core are themes linked to gerontology, nursing, mental health, and quality of life.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Figure 4.
Cumulative citation growth in physiotherapy fallprevention research .
0Ae2.
Leading authors in fall-prevention physiotherapy .
0Ae Figure 5.
Most frequent keywords in physiotherapy fall-prevention Most productive countries in physiotherapy fall-prevention Figure 6.
Thematic network of high-frequency keywords in fallprevention research Figure 1.
Annual research output in physiotherapy for fall prevention .
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Figure 2.
Figure 3.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Figure 9.
Figure 7.
ARIMA forecast of annual citation trajectory to 2030 International collaboration network in physiotherapy fallprevention research Figure 10.
Figure 8.
Co-occurrence heatmap of the top 20 keywords ARIMA forecast of annual publications to 2030 The international collaboration network shown in Figure 7 highlights several central partnerships in physiotherapy fall-prevention research.
The United States occupies a dominant hub position, maintaining direct collaborative links with Canada, the United Kingdom.
Australia.
Brazil.
Singapore, and Ireland.
The United Kingdom also appears as a secondary hub, connecting with Australia.
Germany, and Greece, reflecting its strong research footprint in gerontology and rehabilitation.
Additional regional partnershipsAisuch as Germany with Greece and Brazil with the United StatesAidemonstrate emerging cross-continental cooperation.
Overall, the map reveals a network led by a small group of highly connected countries, suggesting that global research output in this area is strongly influenced by collaborations among high-income nations.
The co-citation analysis revealed a welldefined intellectual structure composed of 14 distinct clusters, as summarised in Table 2.
Cluster 1 represented the largest and most influential group, containing 34 papers and a leading co-cited work with a degree of 370 (OpenAlex ID:
W1974704.
This cluster reflects the foundational literature in physiotherapybased fall prevention and rehabilitation.
Cluster 3, also substantial in size .
papers, top degree .
, contained core studies related to gait, balance assessment, and functional mobility in older adults.
Additional mid-sized clustersAisuch as Cluster 4 .
papers, top degree .
and Cluster 5 .
papers, top degree .
Aicaptured themes linked to geriatric medicine, frailty, and multifactorial fallrisk interventions.
lusters 6Ae14 represented smaller and more specialised research areas.
Cluster 6 Bali Medical Journal 2026.
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focused on clinical assessment tools and functional mobility screening.
Cluster 7 captured psychosocial and behavioural dimensions of fall risk, including fear of falling and adherence to exercise.
Cluster 8 reflected technology-assisted balance assessment and wearable monitoring.
Clusters 9Ae12 comprised niche themes such as outpatient rehabilitation pathways, post-fall interdisciplinary care models.
Clusters 13 and 14 showed weak internal connectivity and limited thematic relevance to physiotherapy-based fall prevention.
The OpenAlex-linked studies in these clusters addressed topics outside the scope of this review and were therefore excluded from interpretive analysis to preserve topical The ARIMA forecasting model illustrated in Figure 8 shows that annual publications in physiotherapy-related ORIGINAL ARTICLE Table 2:
Co-Citation Cluster Characteristics and Influential Works cluster_size top_degree avg_degree total_cluster_weight top_paper_id top_paper_degree https://openalex.
W1974704788
https://openalex.
W2791636814
https://openalex.
W2116516133
https://openalex.
W1847168837
https://openalex.
W1967397997
https://openalex.
W2556187753
https://openalex.
W2164059021
https://openalex.
W1493613372
https://openalex.
W2888699737
https://openalex.
W4319308488
https://openalex.
W2965796943
https://openalex.
W3143060430
https://openalex.
W66745286
https://openalex.
W2087618995
Table 3.
Highly influential articles in physiotherapy-based fall prevention Title Year Journal Otago Exercise Programme J Am Geriatr Soc High Strength & balance Balance training in older Physical Therapy High Postural control Multicomponent fallprevention trials Age and Ageing Moderate Multifactorial Tai Chi for fall prevention Aging Clin Exp Res High MindAebody fall-prevention research are expected to remain high and stable through 2030.
After a sharp increase reaching 118 publications in 2025, the forecast curve suggests a plateau between 103 and 106 publications annually from 2026 onward.
This indicates that while the rapid acceleration seen in earlier years may level off, research activity is projected to sustain a consistently elevated output.
The model Citations/year Dominant Theme demonstrates that the field remains active and productive, with no signs of decline in the near term.
The annual citation trajectory, presented in Figure 9, shows substantial variability over the past two decades, with several pronounced spikesAimost notably in 2010, where citations peaked at approximately 1,750.
After this period of fluctuation, citations gradually decline through the 2020s.
The ARIMA model projects that citations will stabilize at much lower annual levels between 2026 and 2030, ranging from roughly 40 to 70 citations per year.
The co-occurrence heatmap (Figure .
shows that several core concepts frequently appear together in fallprevention Strong co-occurrence signals are visible between medicine, physical therapy, and physical medicine and rehabilitation, indicating that these terms form the primary conceptual foundation of the Additional moderate co-occurrence patterns link gerontology, psychology, nursing, balance ability, and injury prevention, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of fall-risk research in older adults.
Table 3 shows highly influential articles in physiotherapy-based fall prevention in 2000 to 2025.
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
DISCUSSION
This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of global research on physiotherapy-based fall prevention among older adults over the past 25 years.
The steady growth in publication output reflects increasing recognition of falls as a major public health challenge and aligns with global ageing trends and the prioritisation of preventive and rehabilitative care strategies.
1Ae3 The sustained rise in research activity after 2018 further suggests growing investment evidence-based approaches to fall prevention.
Authorship and collaboration patterns indicate that fall-prevention research is driven by diverse, multidisciplinary teams spanning physiotherapy, geriatrics, rehabilitation science, nursing, and public This collaborative structure is consistent with the multifactorial nature of fall risk, which requires integrated approaches addressing physical, functional, and behavioural determinants.
6,7 The presence of recurring authors and research groups highlights sustained scholarly engagement in core areas such as strength training, gait analysis, balance assessment, and community-based rehabilitation Geographic analysis demonstrated that countries with established geriatric and rehabilitation research infrastructures, particularly the United States, the United Kingdom, and several European nations, continue to dominate publication 9,10 At the same time, increasing contributions from emerging regions suggest a broadening global commitment to fall prevention.
The international collaboration network underscores the importance of cross-national partnerships in advancing rehabilitation research, facilitating methodological innovation, and accelerating knowledge translation into practice.
Citation and co-citation analyses revealed that the intellectual foundation of the field is anchored in high-impact studies examining structured exercise programmes, balance and strength training, and evidence-based clinical 12Ae18 Prominent clusters centred on the Otago Exercise Programme, gait rehabilitation, and multifactorial interventions reflect guideline-backed physiotherapy practices implemented across community, outpatient, and homebased settings.
Smaller thematic clusters captured emerging directions, including frailty management, telerehabilitation, and fall-prevention pathways within acute and emergency care contexts.
Clusters with weak thematic coherence or limited relevance to physiotherapy practice were excluded from interpretation to preserve analytical focus.
Keyword co-occurrence and thematic network analyses further confirmed that balance, gait, rehabilitation, and gerontology remain central research Importantly, the integration of psychosocial factors and behavioural components supports contemporary models of fall prevention that and intervention.
1,7 The appearance of technology-related terms, such as digital tele-rehabilitation, indicates a shift toward innovative delivery models that may improve access and continuity of care, particularly for homebased and rural populations.
Forecasting analyses suggest that publication activity will remain stable through 2030, while citation growth is expected to moderate.
This pattern is consistent with a mature research field that continues to evolve incrementally while incorporating new technologies and implementation strategies.
4,11 Overall, the findings indicate a well-established yet adaptive research domain grounded in physiotherapy principles and increasingly oriented toward scalable, technologysupported interventions.
Strengths and Limitations A key strength of this study is its exclusive focus on physiotherapy-based fall-prevention research, offering a targeted synthesis of publication trends, thematic development, and collaboration patterns over a 25-year period.
The use of the OpenAlex database enabled broad international coverage, while the integration of multiple bibliometric techniquesAiincluding co-occurrence co-citation collaboration networks, and forecasting modelsAiprovided a multidimensional Bali Medical Journal 2026.
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perspective on the fieldAos intellectual Several First, reliance on a single bibliographic database may have resulted in the omission of relevant studies indexed elsewhere.
Second, citationbased indicators do not distinguish between supportive and critical citations and therefore cannot fully capture clinical effectiveness or implementation Third, incomplete metadata for some referenced works limited detailed evaluation of certain co-citation clusters.
Finally, forecasting models are inherently dependent on historical trends and may not fully anticipate future shifts driven by policy changes, technological innovation, or emerging clinical priorities.
Future research should incorporate multiple bibliographic databases, link bibliometric findings with patient-level outcomes, and examine real-world implementation of physiotherapy-based fall-prevention interventions.
Particular attention should be given to digital and telerehabilitation strategies, as well as research capacity development in lowand middle-income settings to ensure equitable global impact.
Implications for Practice The results of this analysis have direct implications for physiotherapy practice.
Dominant research clusters support continued emphasis on evidence-based strength and balance training, including Otago-based exercise programmes, across community and home-based settings.
Tai Chi and dualtask interventions align with outpatient and group-based rehabilitation aimed at improving postural control and cognitiveAe motor integration.
Vestibular rehabilitation and gait-focused interventions remain essential in specialist and hospital-based Emerging telerehabilitation themes highlight opportunities to expand access to physiotherapy services and support long-term fall-prevention beyond traditional clinical environments.
CONCLUSION
This study shows substantial growth in physiotherapy-focused fall-prevention research over the past 25 years.
The ORIGINAL ARTICLE increasing number of publications, expanding thematic areas, and strong international collaborations reflect the rising urgency to address fall risk in ageing Keyword patterns, thematic clusters, and co-citation structures confirm that exercise therapy, balance training, gait rehabilitation, and gerontology remain central themes, while new areasAisuch as tele-rehabilitation and emergencydepartment fall-prevention pathwaysAiare gaining importance.
Forecast modelling indicates that research activity is expected to remain strong through 2030, suggesting continued global commitment to improving functional outcomes and reducing fall-related injuries among older
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
This study used publicly available, anonymised bibliographic metadata and did not involve human participants or identifiable personal data.
Therefore, ethical approval was not required, in accordance with OpenAlex data-use AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS Anas Ali Alhur conceptualized the study, supervised the project, handled project administration and software, and contributed to formal analysis, visualization, drafting, and editing.
Bashayr Alamri contributed to the Rafal Qarras assisted with the methodology and the review and editing Lama Alharbi and Sarah Almalki were involved in data curation and writing the original draft.
Fatma Alharbi.
Ghadi Alhussain.
Hajar Almahjari, and Renad Alamri were responsible for data Fatma AlGofilie contributed to formal analysis and visualization.
Najla Alhadi participated in the investigation, validation, and manuscript review.
Mohammed AlQarni contributed to the investigation and the review and editing Rajaee Albannay and Ruba Alzahrani were involved in reviewing and editing the manuscript.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to this work.
No author has any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research presented in this manuscript.
FUNDING
This research received no external funding.
All work was conducted independently by the authors without financial support from any public, commercial, or not-forprofit funding agency.
REFERENCES