Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether exercises for toe flexion and extension are effective in improving Toe function (TF) and the locomotive syndrome (LS).
The survey conducted the following TF tests (toe-grip strength, toe-gap force and 10-second toe test), one leg balance test and LS test (two-step test, stand-up test and GLFS-25 scores). The participants were 209 community-dwelling aged females. Participants were instructed to perform flexion and extension exercises of toes in three sessions per day, with ten repetitions per session. After three months they were again tested with the TF and LS tests.
After the continuous exercises performing flexion and extension of the toes over a three-month period, we divided participants into two groups (exercise-continuing and non-continuing groups), and analyzed the obtained data. In the continuing group, the significant improvement was shown in TF tests (p<.001), stand-up tests (p<.01) and GLFS-25 scores (p<.05), compared with pre-intervention scores. The non- continuing group showed no changes in these scores.
Toe flexion and extension exercises may contribute to the prevention of falls for older individuals.
