Adding Weights to Stretching Exercise Increases Passive Range of Motion for Healthy Elderly

Abstract

Stretching exercise is effective for increasing joint range of motion (ROM). However, the Surgeon General's Report and the American College of Sports Medicine cite a lack of studies identifying strategies capable of increasing the effectiveness of stretching exercise. This investigation evaluated adding modest weight (0.45-1.35 kg) to a stretching exercise routine (Body Recall [BR]) on joint ROM. Forty-three subjects ages 55-83 years participated in 1 of 2 training groups, BR, BR with weights (BR+W), or a control group (C). ROM was evaluated at the neck, shoulder, hip, knee, and ankle before and after 10 weeks of exercise. Using ANCOVA, significant differences (p < 0.01) were observed for right and left cervical rotation, hip extension, ankle dorsiflexion, ankle plantar flexion, and shoulder flexion. Post hoc analysis revealed that cervical rotation (left and right), hip extension, and ankle dorsiflexion for BR+W subjects differed significantly from BR and C (p < 0.01). Significant differences with shoulder flexion and ankle plantar flexion were found for both BR and BR+W in comparison to C (p < 0.01). Results indicate that addition of weights enhanced the effectiveness of stretching exercise for increasing joint ROM with 4 of the 6 selected measurements. Thus, a modest intensity exercise program that is within the reach of most elderly may significantly affect joint ROM and flexibility.

Flexibility Training and Functional Ability in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

“…An average score of 12 out of 18 was assessed for the experimental single-group studies ( n = 3). Fourteen articles were conducted in the United States [10–12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25–29], while the remainder of the studies were from Japan [19], Brazil [23, 24], Turkey [21], Australia [9, 16], Taiwan [30], and Canada [13]. …”

“…One study also used brain imaging for the purposes of identifying changes in hippocampal volume with training [20]. A common outcome measure was simply whether there was a change in range of motion usually assessed by goniometry [15, 17, 20, 24–28, 30]. The inclusion of these studies in the review (although they reported no “functional outcome”) was to provide the data for the purpose of determining whether older adults would, in fact, improve range of motion about different joints with various flexibility exercise programs.…”

“…Ten studies showed no functional outcome measures [15, 17, 20, 24–30] and only reported changes in flexibility and ROM (although they purported to relate flexibility to function, and were included for their results related to the ability of older adults to improve flexibility). There were no obvious differences between the characteristics of the studies with positive, negative, or no functional outcomes.…”

“…Twelve studies used flexibility training as the sole intervention [10, 11, 14, 17, 21–27, 29], four studies used flexibility training as a significant part of an intervention protocol [15, 16, 19, 30], five studies used flexibility as a control group to compare with various other exercise interventions [9, 11–13, 18, 20], and four studies utilized flexibility exercises along with strength or aerobic exercise in the intervention protocol but in the control group, the entire exercise protocol was flexibility exercises [9, 11, 13, 20]. The types of flexibility training methods varied from simple static stretches (19 studies) to different proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) techniques (1 study).…”

Sleep quality and depression of nursing home older adults in wheelchairs after exercises

“…Studies indicated that elastic band exercises improved maximal voluntary thigh muscle strength (Binder et al, 2005); increased isometric, isotonic, and isokinetic muscle strength (Ribeiro et al, 2009;Webber & Porter, 2010;Woo, Hong, Lau, & Lynn, 2007); improved muscle strength and flexibility (Latham & Liu, 2010;Nelson et al, 2007); promoted muscle hypertrophy (Yasuda et al, 2014); improved movement time (Webber & Porter, 2010); improved knee extension and hip extension strength (Dancewicz, Krebs, & McGibbon, 2003); and sit-to-stand performance of older adults (Chen et al, 2009b). Furthermore, elastic band resistance training improved functional ability (Topp, Boardley, Morgan, Fahlman, & McNevin, 2005), increased flexibility and range of joint motion (Sugimoto & Blanpied, 2006;Swank, Funk, Durham, & Roberts, 2003), and enhanced gait and balance of older adults (Topp, Mikesky, Dayhoff, & Holt, 1996).…”