Can progressive resistance training twice a week improve mobility, muscle strength, and quality of life in very elderly nursing-home residents with impaired mobility? A pilot study

Figures & data

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of participants and dropouts (n = 15)

Variable	Participants (n = 10)	Dropouts (n = 5)
Sex
Men (n)	4	2
Women (n)	6	3
Age, years	84.1 ± 5.7	84.6 ± 7.4
Anthropometry
Body weight, kg	71.6 ± 14.8	66.3 ± 13.0
Body mass index, kg/m^2	25.8 ± 5.1	24.7 ± 4.1
Mental status
Cognitive function: score of MMSE†	27 ± 3	26 ± 3
Depression: score of GDS‡	8 ± 5	12 ± 7

Notes:

† Maximum: 30 points;

‡ 0–5 indicates normal mood, 6–11 indicates mild, and 12–30 indicates manifest depression; data represents mean ± standard deviation unless otherwise stated.

Abbreviations: GDS, Geriatric Depression Scale; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination.

Table 2 Changes in mobility and muscle strength in ten participants who completed the resistance training program

Variable	Baseline	8 weeks	P-value	Mean of difference (8 weeks versus baseline)
				Absolute	%
Mobility
Score on Elderly Mobility Scale	14.2 ± 3.4	17.5 ± 3.6	0.005	3.3 ± 0.9	24% ± 8%
Muscle strength (eight-repetition maximum)
Chest press, kg	17.0 ± 7.9	27.5 ± 10.6	0.005	10.5 ± 5.0	62%
Rowing machine, kg	17.0 ± 9.8	33.5 ± 12.0	0.005	16.5 ± 7.1	97%
Butterfly reverse, kg	14.5 ± 6.4	24.5 ± 10.9	0.008	10.0 ± 7.0	74%
Leg press, kg†	35.2 ± 15.4	63.7 ± 25.9	0.007	28.4 ± 15.0	81%
Leg extension, kg	13.0 ± 7.5	27.0 ± 10.6	0.005	14.0 ± 6.1	108%

Notes:

† Only nine participants could perform this exercise; data represents mean ± standard deviation; bold indicates statistical significance (alpha-type error set at 0.05).

Figure 1 Individual improvement of mobility score on the Elderly Mobility Scale before and after training intervention for women (n = 6) and men (n = 4).

Figure 2 Comparison of percentage increase in eight-repetition maximum for each training machine for male (n = 4) and female (n = 6) study participants.

Notes: Horizontal line in the box represents the median; lower and upper end of the box represents the 25th and 75th percentile, respectively; maximum length of each whisker represents 1.5 times the interquartile range; dot represents the outlier.