Crossover Designed Study on the Effect of Muscle Strengthening Training for Healthy Elderly Women in the Community.

Abstract

Many authors have reported on the effect of muscle strengthening training for elders. However, there are few prospective studies comparing the effectiveness of intervention against controls.
This study was to determine whether an intervention with training was effective to strengthen muscles and improve physical performance.
A total of 25 women, 80.3 ± 3.4 years of age (mean ± SD) were recruited. They lived in the same community and received day services at the same facility. They were divided into 2 groups using a crossover design. Each of the groups carried out the training 5 times in 3 months alternately. The training consisted of 10 exercises for grasping and lower extremities. Subjects were encouraged to carry out the exercise program at home. The researchers also recorded which subjects carried out the exercises at home between training sessions.
There were no significant changes between variable ratio of the intervention period and non-intervention period, except back strength (p=0.032). There were also no significant changes between the home program group and the subjects who did not carry out the exercises at home.
Further study is indicated to determine effective means of increasing muscle strength and physical performance to maintain independence.