Effects Of Marching In Place And Chair Rise Exercises On Functioning In Community-dwelling Older Adults

Abstract

PURPOSE: The sedentary lifestyles that predominate in older adults result in further limiting performing active exercises, especially weight-bearing exercises, due to orthopedic and musculoskeletal conditions, excess adiposity, poor balance, and/or age-associated sarcopenia. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 8-week program consisting of marching in place (MP) and chair rising (CR) exercises on physical and cognitive functions in older community-dwellers in Japan. METHODS: Participants: Ten man and twelve women (n = 22) aged 65 years and older (mean age 69.5 + 2.5 yrs.) participated in this study. Protocol: MP and CR was conducted for 8 weeks at their home. Data were collected at base line (BL), 4 weeks (T1) and the next 4 weeks (T2). MP was performed at a pace of 1 step/sec. and 20 steps/set as 1 set. One set was performed for T1 and increased to 2 sets for T2. CR was performed at a repetition rate of 2-3 sec/rep, 15 reps/set as 1 set. One set was performed for T1 and the CR speed was increased to 1-2 sec/rep, 2 sets for T2. Measurements: Following variables were measured. 1) physical performance; one-leg standing time with eyes open (OLS), timed up-and-go (TUG), hand-grip strength (HG), 10-reps chair-stand (CS-10), 30-sec. chair stand (CS-30), 10 m-gait speed (GS), 2) cognitive functions; Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Trail Making Test-A (TMT-A). Data were analyzed using unpaired t-test and ANOVA. RESULTS: Significant improvement (BL toT2) was noted in HG (34.8 + 5.8 to 37.0 + 4.9 kg, p < 0.05), CS-10 (8.6 + 1.7 to 7.5 + 1.6 sec., p < 0.01) and T + MT-A (101.7 + 35.5 to 87.2 + 25.2 sec., p < 0.01) in men, but not in women, OLS (65.7 + 38.0 to 70.4 + 39.3 sec, p < 0.05), TUG (7.5 + 1.5 to 6.8 + 1.1 sec, p < 0.01), CS-30 (10.2 + 4.3 to 12.5 + 4.3 reps, p < 0.05), GS (1.86 + 0.23 to 1.73 + 0.24, sec. p < 0.01+) and MMSE (28.9 + 1.3; 28.2 + 1.9, score p < 0.01) were significantly increased in women, but not in men. Changes in OLS and GS were also observed only in women. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of MP and CR exercises improved various physical activity performances and cognitive functions in older adults, and gender differences were observed. Further study is needed to examine differences in exercise programs by gender, and determine if other modification to the exercise program can improve functions in both genders over a longer duration.