Journal international de médecine physique et de réadaptation
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Acute and Chronic Effects of Lower Body Positive Pressure Exercise on the Very Elderly: A Pilot Study

Misa Miura, Masahiro Kohzuki, Osamu Ito, Makoto Nagasaka, Hiroaki Kinoshita and Yasuaki Kawai

Treadmill walking with body weight support can decrease weight bearing on the lower extremities and is a routine treatment used for patients with neurological and musculoskeletal injuries. In particular, lower body positive pressure (LBPP) is effective for decreasing ground reaction forces and provides safe gait training after surgical procedures. However, the effects of LBPP on the very elderly are unknown. We report on the acute and chronic  effect of LBPP exercise in very elderly patients without long-term changes in muscle strength or activities of daily living. Thirteen very elderly patients (age 86.3 ± 5.1 years) admitted to a nursing care home were divided into an intervention group (n=7) and a control group (n=6). The intervention group performed 6 min of LBPP exercises once every week in addition to undergoing a standard rehabilitation program. The control group did not perform LBBP exercises. The outcome measures included quadriceps muscle strength, visual analog scale (VAS)-based pain assessment, grip strength, walking speed (WS), and 6-min walking distance (6MD). Compared with the control group, the LBPP group had significant improvements in quadriceps muscle strength and VAS (p< 0.05) just after the first intervention and in WS and 6MD (p<0.05) 1 month after the intervention. LBPP exercise performed by the very elderly was effective for decreasing pain and increasing muscle strength in the short term and for increasing WS and 6MD in the long term Thus, LBPP exercise is safe gait training alternative in this population.