Age-and Gender-related Differences in Physical Functions of the Elderly following 1-year Regular Exercise Therapy: Comparison with Standard Values

Hiroe Sugimoto^1, , Shinichi Demura² and Yoshinori Nagasawa³

¹Kyoto Women’s University, Kyoto, Japan

²Graduate School of Natural Science & Technology, Kanazawa University, Ishikawa, Japan

³Department of Health and Sports Sciences, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Kyoto, Japan

Cite this paper

Hiroe Sugimoto, Shinichi Demura and Yoshinori Nagasawa. Age-and Gender-related Differences in Physical Functions of the Elderly following 1-year Regular Exercise Therapy: Comparison with Standard Values. American Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014; 2(4):148-153. doi: 10.12691/AJSSM-2-4-6

Abstract

Only limited data are available regarding the physical functions of elderly patients during the maintenance period after suffering from cardiac or other serious diseases. This study aimed to clarify age- and gender-related differences in the elderly physical functions by mainly comparing data from elderly subjects during the maintenance period with nationwide physical fitness data of healthy elderly subjects collected by the Japanese Ministry of Education. One hundred and sixty-seven elderly individuals who participated in a regular exercise therapy program twice a week participated in this study. Grip strength, 10-m obstacle walking time, one-legged balance with eyes open, sit-ups, sitting trunk flexion, and 6-min walking were selected as the physical function tests. In the gender and age groups considered, compared with the standard value, grip strength, sit-ups, and sitting trunk flexion were lower; 10-m obstacle walking time was similar or higher; and 6-min walking data were similar. One-legged balance with eyes open was lower in subjects, except for males in the young elderly group. Grip strength was significantly higher in females than in males; however, the results from the 10-m obstacle walking time, one-legged balance with eyes open, sit-ups, and 6-min walking tests did not show any significant difference between genders. The young old elderly groups performed better in all tests, except for sit-ups and one-legged balance with eyes open (females), in both genders compared with the old elderly groups. In conclusion, during the maintenance period, the elderly subjects who participated in group sports and exercise therapy performed similarly or better in the 10-m obstacle walking time and 6-min walking tests than the healthy elderly individuals of the same age group; however, they performed worse in grip strength, sit-ups, and sitting trunk flexion. However, our results suggest that the effect of performing sports and exercise therapy may differ between genders.

Keywords

physical function, exercise therapy, standard value

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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