2022 Volume 1 Pages 15-23
Objective: To determine the impact of a 6-month back muscle strengthening program in community-dwelling elderly persons on postural alignment, back muscle strength, physical performance, and health-related quality of life, 1 year after participation, and to compare the difference from the control (full-body exercise) group.
Methods: The “usual” and “best” postures of the participants were assessed: spinal curvature angle [thoracic kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle, sacral inclination angle, spinal inclination angle], head posture, and knee flexion angle. Additionally, back muscle strength, five-repetition sit-to-stand test (SS-5), one-leg standing time, 5-m maximum gait speed, Japanese-version physical performance test (JPPT), and SF-8TM Health Survey were also evaluated. We compared the differences between variables or groups in all the subjects who participated in our study and those who completed the exercise intervention.
Results: There were no significant postural changes during the intervention period in the subjects who completed the exercises properly; however, after 1 year, changes in lumbar kyphosis and forward head posture were observed. Despite the decline in back muscle strength and SS-5, improvements in physical performance obtained during the intervention period were maintained, such as gait speed and JPPT. However, there were no significant differences in any of the variables from the control group.
Conclusions: Postural alignment may be not affected 1 year after completion of the back muscle strengthening program.
