Effects of Functional Strength Training on Functional Movement and Balance in Middle-Aged Adults

Abstract

Functional movement deficiencies cause falls and injuries in adults. Functional strength training (FST) is emerging as a new training method for athletes, middle-aged and older adults, to improve functional movement: The present study was conducted in order to investigate the effects of FST on balance and functional movement in healthy and independent middle-aged adults. The sample for this study consisted of 46 physically active individuals (24 female and 22 male). A total of 46 subjects were divided based on randomly into the functional strength training (FST) group (n = 26) aged: 51.55 ± 3.73 years; height: 168.69 ± 8.8 cm; body mass: 75.88 ± 12.18; and traditional strength training (TST) group (n = 20) age: 52.85 ± 4.01; height: 166.9 ± 9.98; body mass: 76.15 ± 10.45. Each group performed 24 sessions of a training protocol three-time a week. The functional movement was assessed using the functional movement screen (FMS) protocol. Balance performance was determined by using the balance error scoring system (BESS). Bodyweight and body fat ratio were measured using bioelectric impedance. There was a significant statistical difference between FMS total scores after an eight-week FST in the FST group. After the intervention, the functional strength group tended to have significantly better balance control than the traditional strength group (p = 0.01). Statistically, significant differences were observed between pre-test and post-test in the intervention group on BMI, body fat, and body mass (p = 0.01). There were not found significant differences in balance control and FMS score in TST group. As a result of this study, FST positively affected the FMS total score and balance performance in middle-aged adults. Early detections of the deficiencies in functional movement and balance in the middle ages may reduce the risk of insufficiency and fall in adults through targeted functional strength training intervention.

Financial Literacy and Exercise Behavior: Evidence from Japan

“…However, the higher likelihood of regular exercise at an older age could be the result of availability of time when people retire from jobs. Since functional strength training helps to reduce the risk of deficiency, policy makers could incorporate functional strength training into their future intervention programs [8]. For the marital status variables, our finding is consistent with Chung et al and Ruseski et al, who found no association between marital status and exercise [64,65].…”

“…The results are somewhat consistent with the findings of Hickey and Mason [60]. We argue that the negative relationship is a result of functional movement deficiency, which causes difficulty in the daily lives of older people, such as when exercising [8,[61][62][63]. However, the higher likelihood of regular exercise at an older age could be the result of availability of time when people retire from jobs.…”

“…Thus, governments and health organizations have been advocating exercise to promote the tremendous individual and societal benefits. Empirically, people who exercise regularly are more likely to delay the development of severe physical health problems [3,5,6] improve their physical health [7,8], and recover from mental health problems [6,[9][10][11][12][13]. Some studies also suggest that exercise can prolong life expectancy [14,15], while in Japan, Monma et al [16] found a positive association between a prefecture's healthy life expectancy and the ratio of middle-aged male exercisers.…”

Effects of Exercise-Based Interventions on Functional Movement Capability in Untrained Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In total, 20 studies were selected in this study, including 15 RCTs [ 8 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ] and 5 non-RCTs [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 ]. All were published between 2016 and 2022 as peer-reviewed articles or dissertations.…”

“… Forest plot of the untrained populations’ FMS composite scores [ 8 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. …”