Abstract
BackgroundWhile the world’s population is growing older, healthy life expectancy is not increasing. The Japanese Orthopedic Association proposed the concept of ‘locomotive syndrome,’ manifested as a decline in mobility functions, and introduced a short test battery for assessing the risk of this syndrome. The test battery includes the ‘stand-up test,’ ‘two-step test,’ and ‘25-question Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale’ (25-question GLFS). The purpose of locomotion training is to improve and sustain standing and gait functions. However, the place where locomotion training can be provided and followed up has not been decided upon. Therefore, a study was conducted to explore the effect of locomotive syndrome improvement by continuous locomotion training provided at community pharmacies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of pharmacists’ instructions and follow-up on the compliance and effectiveness of locomotion training.MethodsThe inclusion criteria were 1) age ≥ 65 years and 2) decline in mobility functions. Guidance on how to perform locomotion training was provided by a pharmacist at the pharmacy. The participants performed locomotion training at home. They were tested and instructed at the pharmacy once a month for 3 months. The main outcome measures were test battery results and the percentage of number of days participants who were able to do the training at home.ResultsEleven participants were analysed. The minimum implementation percentage was 78%. Improvements were observed in 25-question GLFS, muscle strength, and standing time on one leg. Three participants no longer showed a noticeable decline in mobility function.ConclusionContinuous locomotion training provided at pharmacies could contribute to locomotive syndrome prevention.Trial registrationThis study was registered with the University hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR; identification No. UMIN000027963. Registered 28 June 2017).
Highlights
While the world’s population is growing older, healthy life expectancy is not increasing
We considered the possibility of establishing a new pharmacy health support by exploiting these advantages
In this study, we demonstrated that a pharmacy could act as a health support system and provide instructions and follow-up to the community regarding Locotra
Summary
While the world’s population is growing older, healthy life expectancy is not increasing. The place where locomotion training can be provided and followed up has not been decided upon. The world’s elderly population is growing at an unprecedented rate This phenomenon is considerably more pronounced in the Japanese population. The average life span of Japanese people has considerably increased in recent years. In 2011, 3.783 million people needed long-term care, whereas in 2016, the number increased to 4.459 million [2]. To address this issue, it is vital to take measures that can extend the healthy life expectancy of people
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