2022 Volume 52 Issue 5 Pages 181-185
Objective: To determine whether the effects of one year of functional training-specific rehabilitation in the elderly differ according to type of underlying medical conditions.
Methods: Seventy-six patients were eligible for inclusion in the study. They were classified into 3 groups according to type of underlying diseases as follows: 25 in an internal medicine disease group; 16 in a cerebrovascular disease group; and 35 in an orthopedic disease group. All were required to undergo 3.5 hours of functional training twice a week. Limb skeletal muscle mass, 5-m walking speed, the Timed Up ＆ Go test (TUG) score, and grip strength were measured at the beginning of the program and again at one year later.
Results: Limb skeletal muscle mass showed a tendency to increase in the internal medicine disease group but showed a significantly increased in the orthopedic disease group. A trend towards a decrease was observed in the cerebrovascular disease group, however.
The 5-m walking speed showed a significant increase in the internal medicine and orthopedics groups, but not in the cerebrovascular disease group.
The TUG speed showed a significant increase in the internal medicine and orthopedic groups, but no significant change in the cerebrovascular disease group.
Grip strength showed no significant change in either group.
Conclusion: Functional training-specific rehabilitation was less effective in elderly patients with underlying cerebrovascular disease than in those with other types of disease.
