The effects of a multi-component intervention on the functional capacity, lower-body muscle strength, balance and gait in frail community-dwelling older people: a randomised controlled trial protocol

Abstract

Background: Frailty is an age-associated syndrome that increases the risk for loss of functional independence. The strategies to treat frailty include the improvement of weakness, physical activity, motor performance and exercise tolerance. Thus, there is a current consensus that physical frailty may be prevented, postponed or reversed with appropriate interventions.

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of a progressive exercise programme consisting of resistance, balance and walking training on functional assessment (time to perform the TUG test), as a primary outcome, in frail older people.

Materials and methods: This blind parallel group randomised controlled trial will include 30 community-dwelling older adults classified as frail, who will be divided into two groups, i.e. exercise group (EG) and control group (CG), and will be assessed at baseline and 1, 2 and 3 months during the intervention. This will be a multi-component intervention involving increasing intensity and challenge according to the capacity/evolution of each participant.

Discussion: A multi-component and personalised programme focussed on the specificities of frail older persons can contribute to the improvement of functional levels, mainly reducing the time needed to perform the TUG test, and contributing to the reversal of frail status.

Keywords:

• Frailty
• functional performance
• physical exercise
• aging
• balance

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes, Brazil).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Authors' contributions

NCR, FPASP, DCCA and EF were responsible for the conception and implementation of the study, as well as for its writing and final corrections. NCR and FPASP helped in the implementation and supervision of the study. NMCA was responsible for supervision of the intervention. NCR, FPASP, EOA, LTM and RFJ were responsible for the evaluations. NCR conducted the data analysis. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.