Effects of the Square-Stepping Exercise program on physical fitness and cognitive function in elderly / 体力科学

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a six-month Square-Stepping Exercise (SSE) program on physical fitness and cognitive function in elderly and the effects of differences in cognitive function levels before the program on cognitive function. Twenty-four elderly (≧75 years old, mean age: 80.7±3.8 years) participated in the SSE program (once a week, 90 minutes/session, for six months). Grip strength, single leg balance with eyes open, chair stand, figure-8 walking test, and cognitive function (Five Cog) were measured before and after the program. Physical function did not improve during the SSE program. Significant memory and language improvements in Five Cog were observed. There was no significant interaction between the pre cognitive function level and the pre results. In conclusion, the six-month SSE program is an effective exercise for improving memory and language in cognitive function of elderly women and prevented physical function decline. However, there was no difference in the improvement due to the pre cognitive function level.

Effects of Exercise Therapy Aiming at Improvement in Physical Fitness on Dyspnea and Health-Related Qol in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease / 体力科学

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a common therapy for improving both exercise tolerance and quality of life (QoL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) . Although exercise is an important rehabilitation strategy, walking, treadmill use, bicycling and respiratory muscle training can be monotonous. A comprehensive exercise program that includes recreational activities may be a more effective means to decrease the occurrence of dyspnea during daily activities and improve QoL in patients with COPD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of our exercise therapy, including recreational activities and respiratory muscle training, on dyspnea and health related QoL (HRQL) in COPD patients. Thirty-eight male patients with COPD were randomly assigned to a control (C) (70.1±6.4yr) (n=12) . pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) (70.3±8.3yr) (n= 16), or exercise (EX) (68.7±4.6yr) (n=10) group. The following evaluations were performed at baseline and at 8 weeks: (1) cycle ergometer test ; (2) 6-min walking distance : (3) physical fitness (4) pulmonary function ; (5) dyspnea : and (6) HRQoL (SF-36) . The C group showed no significant changes in physical fitness, pulmonary function, dyspnea, and HRQoL scores throughout the observation period. There was a significant (<I>P</I><0.05) improvement in 6-min walking distance. physical fit-ness, maximum rnspiratory pressure (MIP), and HRQoL for the PR group. The EX group demons-trated a significant (<I>P</I><0.05) improvement in physical fitness, maximum expiratory pressure (MEP), dyspnea, and HRQoL. Moreover, the degree of improvement in each variable was greater for EX than for PR. There were significant (<I>P</I><0.05) correlations between MIP and FEV<SUB>1.0</SUB> (r=0.65), and between MEP and FEV<SUB>1.0</SUB> (r=0.43) . Based on these results, it appears that our comprehensive exercise program, including recreational activities and respiratory muscle training, improves physical fitness, pulmonary function, dyspnea, and quality of life in COPD patients.

Applicability of functional fitness tests in older persons with chronic disease / 体力科学

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of physical performance tests (test battery) for assessing functional fitness required for activities of daily life in older persons with chronic disease. This test battery consisted of 4 items: arm curl, walking around two cones, moving beans with chopsticks, and functional reach. Seventy-one persons (aged 66.7±7.8 yr) with either hemiplegia, Parkinson's disease (PD), or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) served as subjects. There were significant differences among standard test scores in each rate of progression of the disease in all hemiplegia groups (Stages III, IV, V), and COPD groups (Stages 1, 2, 3) (Kruskal-Wallis'<I>H</I>=22.3 and 7.3, respectively) . In PD groups, there was no significant difference between standard scores in Stages II and III (Mann-Whitney's <I>U</I>=4.0) . However, the rank order correlation coefficient between the ranking in standard test score and the ranking in physical independence assessed by a medical doctor and a public health nurse was significant (ρ=0.57, <I>P</I><0.05) . All tests were safely applied for all subjects. These results suggest that our test battery may be applicable to a majority of older persons with various chronic diseases. Furthermore, the variability of standard test scores was greater than the clinical subjective ratings by Stage, which suggests that such a classification may provide a better description of disease progress/functional fitness.

Estimation of cardiorespiratory endurance in young adult men using 12-min submaximal treadmill walk/run test / 体力科学

The purpose of this study was to clarify the validity of 12-min submaximal treadmill walk (TMW) and run (TMR) tests, as indirect measures of cardiorespiratory endurance, and to develop estimation equations of cardiorespiratory endurance using TMW or TMR performance and some other useful items correlating with cardiorespiratory endurance. Fifty-one young adult men, aged 20 -r34 years (22.8±3.6), walked or ran for 12 minutes on the treadmill at the intensity corresponding to the level 13 on the Borg's ratings of perceived exertion (RPE 13), and performed a maximal incremental exercise test. Mean (± SD) of oxygen uptake corresponding to anaerobic threshold (VO<SUB>2</SUB>AT) and maximal oxygen uptake (VO<SUB>2</SUB>max) were 42.0 ± 9.0 ml/kg/min and 55.9 ± 7.4 ml/kg/min, respectively, and mean (± SD) of 12-min walk and run distances were 1221 ± 103 m and 2108 ± 269 m, respectively. Cardiorespiratory endurance indices (VO<SUB>2AT</SUB> and VO<SUB>2</SUB>max) significantly correlated with TMW (r=0.49 and 0.48, respectively) and with TMR (r=0.69 and 0.68, respectively) . A stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied to determine the estimation equations of the cardiorespiratory endurance using VO<SUB>2AT</SUB> or VO<SUB>2</SUB>max as a dependent variable, and TMW or TMR distance, age, resting heart rate (HRrest), and exercise frequency in a week as independent variables. The multiple regression equations of VO<SUB>2AT</SUB> and VO<SUB>2</SUB>max were developed as follows : When TMW distance entered as an independent variable, VO<SUB>2AT</SUB> = 20.781 X<SUB>1</SUB> + 2.298 X<SUB>3</SUB> - 0.29 X<SUB>4</SUB> + 31.855 (r = 0.83, SEE = 5.33 ml/kg/min) : VO<SUB>2</SUB>max =19.941 X<SUB>1</SUB> + 1.127 X<SUB>3</SUB> - 0.208 X<SUB>4</SUB> - 0.656 X<SUB>5</SUB> - 0.853 X<SUB>6</SUB> + 77.884 (r = 0.88, SEE = 3.96 ml/kg/min), and when TMR distance entered as an independent variable, VO<SUB>2</SUB>AT =15.443 X<SUB>2</SUB> + 2.158 X<SUB>3</SUB>- 0.157 X<SUB>4</SUB> + 14.234 (r = 0.90, SEE = 4.18 ml/kg/min) ; VO<SUB>2</SUB>max =10.817 X<SUB>2</SUB> + 1.274 X<SUB>3</SUB> - 0.1946 X4 - 0.504 X<SUB>5</SUB> + 55.234 (r = 0.89, SEE = 3.79 ml/kg/min), where X<SUB>1</SUB> : TMW distance (m), X<SUB>2</SUB>: TMR distance (m), X<SUB>3</SUB> : exercise frequency in a week (d/wk), X<SUB>4</SUB>: HRrest (b/min), X<SUB>5</SUB>: age (yr) and X<SUB>6</SUB>: BMI. It is concluded that cardiorespiratory endurance could be better estimated by a combination of submaximal exercise performance and some easily measurable items correlating with cardiorespiratory endurance such as exercise frequency, circulatory function, chronological age and body composition.