Regular exercise is widely advocated for the young and middle-aged, but less is heard about its relevance to elderly people. This study reports the findings of a controlled trial of seated exercise in residents of local authority homes for the elderly. Forty-nine residents aged 64-91 years volunteered for the 7-month project, and participated in either twice-weekly exercise or reminiscence sessions. Primary outcome measures were postural sway, flexibility of the spine and knees, hand-grip strength and functional capacity. The average (range of) attendance at the exercise sessions was 91% (64-100%), and at the reminiscence sessions was 86% (46-100%). By the end of the project, the change observed in the exercise group was significantly different from that of the reminiscence group in terms of grip strength (p < 0.02), spinal flexion (p < 0.001), chair-to-stand time (p < 0.001), activities of daily living (p < 0.05), and self-rating of depression (p < 0.01). Even very elderly residents of old peoples homes can benefit from participation in regular seated exercise and improve their functional capacity.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
McMurdo et al. (1993) studied this question.