THE EFFECT OF PROPRIOCEPTIVE EXERCISE TRAINING ON CERVICAL PROPRIOCEPTION, KINESIOPHOBIA, AND PAIN CATASTROPHIZING LEVELS IN SARCOPENIC GERIATRIC INDIVIDUALS RESIDING IN NURSING HOMES

Cervical proprioception was assessed using joint position error test. While seated, the participant faced a board positioned 90 cm away at head level, consisting of concentric circles (40 cm diameter, 1-cm increments), and wore a cap with a mounted laser pointer The participant first aligned the laser with the central point to establish the neutral position, then-with eyes open-was guided through flexion, extension, right/left rotation, and right/left lateral flexion, returning to neutral after each movement. The same six movements were then actively performed with eyes closed . Six repetitions were completed for each direction, and the point at which the laser stopped was marked on the board after every trial . The mean of these points was calculated, and angular deviation from the target was determined using the arctan method based on the fixed distance to the board. A deviation of more than 4 degrees was considered to indicate impaired proprioception.

Kinesiophobia was assessed using the Kinesiophobia Causes Scale (KCS) . Developed by Kocjan and Knapik (2014), the scale identifies the biological and psychological sources of fear of movement and contributes to understanding the underlying causes of reduced motor activity. It comprises two domains: biological and psychological. The biological domain includes morphological factors, movement requirements, energy resources, biological drives, negative experiences, motor competence, and beliefs related to body care, while the psychological domain assesses factors such as confidence, self-efficacy, and social interaction that contribute to avoidance behavior. The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Çayır et al. (2020). The scale consists of 20 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree). Higher scores indicate greater fear of movement.

Pain catastrophizing was assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), a 13-item measure evaluating maladaptive thoughts and feelings related to pain. The scale includes three subdimensions: helplessness, magnification, and rumination . Each item is scored on a 0-4 scale, and subscale scores are obtained by summing the corresponding items; the total PCS score is calculated as the sum of all items . The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Uğurlu et al. (2017) . Total scores range from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating greater pain catastrophizing.Scores above 30 reflect clinically significant levels of catastrophizing.