Interactive Effects of ForwardㆍBackward Walking Exercise and Pelvic Floor Muscle Exercise on Sexual Function and Functional Fitness in the Elderly Male Population

Abstract

B ackground : To assess the e ffect o f fo rw ard ᆞbackw ard w a lk ing exercise and pe lv ic floor m uscle exercise on sexual fu n c tio n a n d fu n c tio n a l fitn e ss in e ld e rly m a le s . M ethods: Twenty two elderly m ales participated in this study. They were divided into two groups. The Com plex Exercise (CE) group (n=11) perform ed the forw ard·backward walking exercise (3 days/w eek, 12 weeks) and pelvic floor m uscle exercises (PFME; 5 days/week, 12 weeks). The PFME group (n=11) on ly performed PFME (5 days/week, 12 weeks). Both groups perfo rm ed the P FM E in the sam e m anner. O utcom es w ere eva luated by IIE F-5 (5-item vers ion of the international index of erectile function), 6 min walk, and 30 sec & 1 min sit-to-stand before exercise training, and at week 4, week 8 , a n d w e e k 1 2 . R esults: Tota l scores and erectile function scores had significant in teraction effect (p<0.05) in group and period. 6 m in w a lk w as sign ificantly d iffe ren t (p<0.05) in exerc ise period and 30 sec (p<0.001) & 1 m in sit-to -stand (p<0.01) had sign ifica n t in te ra c tio n e ffe c t in g ro u p a n d p e rio d . C o n c lu s io n : T h re e m o n th s o f fo rw a rd ·b a ckw a rd w a lk in g a n d p e lv ic flo o r m u s c le e xe rc ise s d id n o t h a ve s ig n ifica n t p o s itive e ffe c ts o n se xu a l fu n c tio n a n d fu n c tio n a l fitn e ss in e ld e rly m a le s .