Effects of low-intensity bodyweight training with slow movement on motor function in frail elderly patients: a prospective observational study

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, Jan 2018

Kanae Kanda, Takeshi Yoda, Hiromi Suzuki, Yugo Okabe, Yutaka Mori, Kunihisa Yamasaki, Hiroko Kitano, Aya Kanda, Tomohiro Hirao

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Effects of low-intensity bodyweight training with slow movement on motor function in frail elderly patients: a prospective observational study

Kanda et al. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Effects of low-intensity bodyweight training with slow movement on motor function in frail elderly patients: a prospective observational study Kanae Kanda 0 Takeshi Yoda 0 Hiromi Suzuki 0 Yugo Okabe 0 Yutaka Mori 1 Kunihisa Yamasaki 1 Hiroko Kitano 1 Aya Kanda 1 Tomohiro Hirao 0 0 Department of Public Health, Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine , 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki-cho Kita-gun, Kagawa 761-0793 , Japan 1 Sin Cire Co., Ltd , 14-29 Ogi-machi Daito, Osaka 574-0033 , Japan Background: Slow-motion training, an exercise marked by extremely slow movements, yields a training effect like that of a highly intense training, even when the applied load is small. This study evaluated the effects of low-intensity bodyweight training with slow movement on motor function in frail, elderly patients. Methods: Ninety-seven elderly men and women aged 65 years or older, whose level of nursing care was classified as either support required (1 and 2) or long-term care required (care level 1 and 2), volunteered to participate. Two facilities were used. Participants in the first facility used low-intensity bodyweight training with slow movement (the LST group, n = 65), and participants in another facility used machine training (the control group, n = 31). Exercises were conducted for 3 months, once or twice a week, depending on the required level of nursing care. Changes in motor function were examined. Results: Post-exercise measurements showed significant improvements from the pre-exercise levels after 3 months, based on the results of the Timed Up and Go test (p = 0.0263) and chair-stand test (p = 0.0016) in the low-intensity exercise with slow movement and tonic force generation (LST) group. Although the ability to stand on one leg with eyes open tended to improve, no significant change was found (p = 0.0964). Conclusions: We confirmed that carrying out LST bodyweight training for 3 months led to improvements in ambulatory function and lower-limb muscle strength. In this way, it is possible that LST training performed by holding a bar or by staying seated on a chair contributes to improved motor function in elderly patients within a short time. Trial registration: UMIN000030853. Registered 17 January 2018. (retrospectively registered). Bodyweight training; frail elderly; LST; Motor function Background Resistance training, which consists of applying resistance to muscles, is effective for the prevention of muscle weakness and muscle atrophy associated with aging [ 1, 2 ]. However, in conventional resistance training, no apparent muscle hypertrophy can be achieved unless high load intensity equivalent to approximately 80% of the maximum muscle strength is used [3]. Notably, high-load resistance training is associated with small, but real, risks of muscle or joint injuries and cardiovascular events [ 4 ]; therefore, muscle training methods for elderly subjects need to be safe to perform under a relatively low load. Recently, low-intensity exercise with slow movement and tonic force generation (LST) [ 5 ], involving movements while maintaining muscle tension that allows for the obtainment of a substantial muscle hypertrophy effect using a relatively light load, has been developed, and evidence of its effects continue to be accumulated. LST training is a collective term, which refers to a practice of muscle training in which the load is increased and decreased extremely slowly. LST training has a positive effect on muscle hypertrophy and demonstrates an enhancing effect on muscle strength, even with load strength equivalent to 50% or less of the maximum muscle strength [ 5–9 ]. However, studies on this method of training conducted on elderly subjects are in their accumulation stage and have predominantly been conducted on healthy elderly subjects, with the use of muscle training machines. Accordingly, a slow-motion bodyweight training program that can be easily performed by frail elderly subjects at home is needed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of LST bodyweight training on motor function in frail elderly patients. Methods Participants The study included elderly men and women aged 65 years or older who were using nursing care facilities in Osaka from March to August 2016 as well as those who required a level of nursing care classified as either support required (1 and 2) or long-term care required (care level 1 and 2). Two facilities were involved. The participants in the first facility started receiving an exercise rehabilitation therapy using LST bodyweight training (the LST group), and the participants in the other facility started receiving an exercise rehabilitation therapy using machine training (the control group). The study flowchart is shown in Fig. 1. Exclusion criteria for the participants were as follows: (1) those who had difficulty participating in the exercise program due to apparent cognitive symptoms and (...truncated)


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Kanae Kanda, Takeshi Yoda, Hiromi Suzuki, Yugo Okabe, Yutaka Mori, Kunihisa Yamasaki, Hiroko Kitano, Aya Kanda, Tomohiro Hirao. Effects of low-intensity bodyweight training with slow movement on motor function in frail elderly patients: a prospective observational study, Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 2018, pp. 4, Volume 23, Issue 1, DOI: 10.1186/s12199-018-0693-4