NASHVILLE, TENN. — Structured weight-training and physical conditioning programs for the elderly can reduce pain and prevent the expected age-related physiologic decline, researchers said at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine.
The significant improvements associated with weight and aerobic training in these studies reinforce the idea that exercise is beneficial for people of any age. “Our program was structured [to be] effective in reducing and/or reversing age-associated changes in functional performance,” said Jessie Jones, Ph.D., codirector of the Center for Successful Aging at the University of California, Fullerton.
Dr. Jones recruited 85 patients aged 61–82 years for her 5-year study; a total of 21 women and 19 men completed the program. All came to the university exercise center for twice-weekly, 75-minute sessions, 24 weeks each year. The program consisted of warm-up; aerobic training on treadmills, stationary bikes, or step machines; strength training with machines and free weights; and a cool-down period.
Patients were assessed on strength, aerobic fitness, and balance and mobility at baseline, four times each year, and at the end of the program. The data for the changes during the 5 years were compared with the expected age-related changes in a reference population. “On the average, you see a 1%-per-year decline in physical measures between ages 60 and 90,” she said. “So in a reference group, we would expect to see a 5% decline over 5 years.”
The largest changes occurred in upper- and lower-body strength for both men and women. “Instead of the expected 5% decline in upper-body strength, both men and women had a 16%–17% increase,” Dr. Jones told FAMILY PRACTICE NEWS. “It was basically a reversal of the aging process.”
Lower-body strength increased as well. “For this measure, we would have expected a 7.5% decline over 5 years. Instead, we saw an 8% increase for women and a 6% increase for men.”
Aerobic endurance did decline for patients of both sexes but at about half the expected rate of 5% over 5 years. (Women had a decline of 3% and men, a decline of 2%.) Balance and mobility improved 2% in women, rather than declining the expected 6% over 5 years. In men, however, balance and mobility declined 6%.
In addressing the high dropout rate in the study, Dr. Jones acknowledged that it's tough getting any group—especially one composed of members with unpredictable health issues—to commit to a 5-year workout plan. She used social incentives, such as parties, to keep her participants coming back to the gym. “It's hard to get all of them to work out consistently at the same intensity, due to day-to-day fluctuations in health, pain, and medical conditions,” said Dr. Jones. “But this really became a social highlight for a lot of our people.”
Even a brief training program can reap significant benefits, said Kathleen Knutzen, Ph.D., who reported that an 8-week strength-training program reduced the perception of pain among another group of older adults.
The randomized study included 97 community-dwelling adults aged 60–83 years. The intervention group (79 participants) participated in an 8-week training program consisting of a warm-up and stretching routine followed by high-resistance weight training of 8–10 repetitions for each exercise. Participants started out lifting 50% of their one-repetition maximum. The load increased each week, until by week 4, they were lifting 80% of their baseline one-repetition maximum.
Dr. Knutzen, of Western Washington University, Bellingham, used the McGill Pain Questionnaire to assess pain at baseline and at the study's end. Baseline mean score on the total pain index was about 6 for both groups; at study's end, it fell to 3 for the intervention group and rose to 6.2 in the control group. Participants in the intervention group also reported having pain at fewer body sites after the program; the control group reported no change.
“Our older patients often report improvements in both pain and function within a week or two of starting a weight-training program,” Dr. Knutzen said in an interview.