The provision of a cane provides greater benefit to community-dwelling people after stroke with a baseline walking speed between 0.4 and 0.8 metres/second: an experimental study

Physiotherapy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 351-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas R. Nascimento ◽  
Louise Ada ◽  
Luci F. Teixeira-Salmela
Geriatrics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koji Nonaka ◽  
Shin Murata ◽  
Kayoko Shiraiwa ◽  
Teppei Abiko ◽  
Hideki Nakano ◽  
...  

Background: Body mass index (BMI) is related to health in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to investigate the physical characteristics in underweight, overweight, and obese Japanese community-dwelling elderly women compared to normal-weight elderly women. Methods: The study participants included 212 community-dwelling elderly women. They were categorized as underweight (BMI < 18.5), normal weight (18.5 ≤ BMI ≤ 22.9), overweight (23 ≤ BMI ≤ 24.9), and obese (BMI ≥ 25). Data on skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), number of trunk curl-ups performed within 30 seconds, knee extension strength, one-leg standing time, and walking speed were recorded. Results: In the underweight group, the number of trunk curl-ups was significantly lower than that of the normal-weight group (p = 0.011) and the correlation between knee extension strength and walking speed was relatively higher than in the normal-weight group (r = 0.612 vs. r = 0.471). In the overweight group, the SMI was significantly increased (p < 0.001), but knee extension strength was not increased (p = 0.235) compared to that of the normal-weight group. In the obese group, one-leg standing time was significantly shorter than in the normal-weight group (p = 0.016). Conclusions: Physical characteristics vary according to BMI and these findings are useful in assessing and planning interventional programs to improve and maintain physical function in elderly women.


Author(s):  
Takafumi Abe ◽  
Kenta Okuyama ◽  
Tsuyoshi Hamano ◽  
Masamitsu Kamada ◽  
Minoru Isomura ◽  
...  

PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e111810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itsushi Hayashida ◽  
Yoshimi Tanimoto ◽  
Yuka Takahashi ◽  
Toshiyuki Kusabiraki ◽  
Junko Tamaki

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshihito Tomita ◽  
Kazuhiko Arima ◽  
Satoshi Mizukami ◽  
Ritsu Tsujimoto ◽  
Shin-ya Kawashiri ◽  
...  

Abstract Background; Osteoporosis and related fractures, a worldwide public health issue of growing concern, is characterized by compromised bone strength and an increased risk of fracture. Here we show an association between self-reported walking speed and bone mass among community-dwelling postmenopausal Japanese women aged 50 years and older.Design; Cross-sectional study.Setting and Participants; The survey population included 1008 postmenopausal women 50–92 years of age residing in rural communities.Methods; Self-reported walking speed was ascertained by asking the participants: “Is your walking speed faster than others of the same age and sex?” to which participants responded “yes (faster)” or “no (moderate/slower).” Calcaneal stiffness index was measured.Results; Women with a faster self-reported walking speed were younger and had a lower BMI, higher stiffness index, and higher grip strength than women with a slower walking speed. Multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for age, BMI, grip strength, comorbidity, current smoking, and alcohol drinking status showed a significant association between faster self-reported walking speed and higher calcaneal stiffness index (p < 0.001).Conclusions; Our findings suggest that questionnaires of walking speed may be useful for predicting bone mass and that a fast self-reported walking may benefit bone health in postmenopausal women.


1970 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darija Rugelj ◽  
Marija Tomšič ◽  
France Sevšek

Elderly people are the most vulnerable group in urban traffic and a large proportion of them are as pedestrians victims of traffic accidents. The majority of these happen while crossing the road. Crossing a busy road at an intersection with traffic lights or without them is a typical dual task condition requiring a motor task i.e. walking and a cognitive task such as monitoring traffic. The purpose of present study was to compare the walking speed and the related spatio-temporal gait variables of fallers and non-fallers in three walking conditions against the speeds required by regulations in Slovenia for safe street crossing. To assess the spatio-temporal characteristics of gait we used a 7m instrumented walkway.The general results showed that the spatio-temporal gait parameters did not differ between the two groups at the self-selected speed. But as soon as a constraint, such as fast walking speed, was imposed on the subjects the differences between the groups became evident. Fallers demonstrated a significantly slower mean gait velocity and shorter stride length while the cadence and the base of support did not differ between the two groups. In dual task conditions the difference between the two groups reached 25 percent. The fallers group gait velocity dropped to 0.99 m/s. The observed walking speed was slower than considered by the guidelines for the design of traffic light equipped road crossing.In conclusion, the results of walking speed under dual task conditions could be a useful parameter for planning of optimal pedestrian crossing in urban areas. These results will serve for the design of a population based study in Ljubljana.


2018 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 396-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinlu Sun ◽  
Yafei Guo ◽  
Changhai Li ◽  
Siuming Lo ◽  
Shouxiang Lu

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Nishimura ◽  
Atsushi Hagio ◽  
Kanako Hamaguchi ◽  
Toshiyuki Kurihara ◽  
Motoyuki Iemitsu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Locomotive syndrome (LS) is a condition of reduced mobility due to a disorder of the locomotive system. Increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) has been recommended to prevent LS. However, to increase daily MVPA is difficult for older people with LS. The MVPA consists of not only locomotive activities such as walking but also non-locomotive activities such as household activities. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between locomotive/non-locomotive MVPA and physical performance in older females with and without LS. Methods Participants of this cross-sectional study were 143 older community-dwelling Japanese females. The participants were divided into two groups based on the results of the stand-up test: the normal group (NL) (n = 86) and the LS group (n = 57). Both the locomotive and non-locomotive PA seperately measured with its intensity. The intensity of physical activity (PA) was calculated as METs and classified as sedentary behavior (SB 1–1.5 metabolic equivalent tasks (METs)), low-intensity physical activity (LPA 1.6–2.9 METs), and MVPA (≥ 3 METs). For example, locomotive LPA is slow walking speed of 54 m/min, and locomotive MVPA is walking speed of 67 m/min. While non-locomotive LPA is office work and cooking, non-locomotive MVPA is housecleaning. Physical function was evaluated by handgrip strength, walking speed, and 2-step test. Results Walking speed, hand-grip strength, 2-step test, daily step counts, and all PA measurements were not significantly different between two groups. In the LS, locomotive MVPA (r = 0.293, p < 0.05) and total MVPA (r = 0.299, p < 0.05) was significantly correlated with walking speed, but not in the NL. Conclusions Walking speed was positively correlated with locomotive MVPA and total MVPA in the LS group, but not in NL group. This result suggests that slow walking speed in older people with LS occur in connection with lower locomotive MVPA and total MVPA.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Beauchet ◽  
Harmehr Sekhon ◽  
Liam Cooper-Brown ◽  
Cyrille P Launay ◽  
Pierrette Gaudreau ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The co-occurrence of slow walking speed and subjective cognitive complaint (SCC) in non-demented individuals defines motoric cognitive risk syndrome (MCR), which is a pre-dementia stage. There is no information on the association between MCR and incident dementia in Québec’s older population. Objective The study aims to examine the association of MCR and its individual components (i.e. SCC and slow walking speed) with incident dementia in community-dwelling older adults living in the province of Québec (Canada). Design Québec older people population-based observational cohort study with 3 years of follow-up. Setting Community dwellings. Subjects A subset of participants (n = 1,098) in ‘Nutrition as a determinant of successful aging: The Québec longitudinal study’ (NuAge). Methods At baseline, participants with MCR were identified. Incident dementia was measured at annual follow-up visits using the Modified Mini-Mental State (≤79/100) test and Instrumental Activity Daily Living scale (≤6/8) score values. Results The prevalence of MCR was 4.2% at baseline and the overall incidence of dementia was 3.6%. MCR (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 5.18, with 95% confidence interval (CI) = [2.43–11.03] and P ≤ 0.001) and SCC alone (HR = 2.54, with 95% CI = [1.33–4.85] and P = 0.005) were associated with incident dementia, but slow walking speed was not (HR = 0.81, with 95%CI = [0.25–2.63] and P = 0.736). Conclusions MCR and SCC are associated with incident dementia in NuAge study participants.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Y. M. Leung ◽  
Isaac S. H. Leung ◽  
Justina Y. W. Liu ◽  
Sylvia Ting ◽  
Selina Lo

Background: This study aims to investigate the effect of two interventions (verbal advice and comic books) on health literacy and medication compliance among older adults living in 15 public estates in Hong Kong. Methods: This is a two-phase multi-site quasi-experimental study with a pre-and-post design with four measurement points (T1–T4). In both phases, the two interventions were conducted by trained medical/nursing/pharmacy students. Two home visits were carried out in each phase. After the baseline measurement at Time 1 (T1), students verbally advised the older adult participants on how to read, understand, and interpret information on drug labels and how to store drugs properly. A post-assessment was conducted at T2. One year later, another pre-assessment was conducted at T3, and then students used a comic book to educate the older adults. A post-assessment was carried out at T4 after the use of the comic book. Health literacy was measured using the 24-item Chinese Health Literacy Scale for Chronic Care and medication compliance was measured using the Medication Compliance, Knowledge and Storage scale. Generalised Linear Mixed Models were used. Results: A total of 165 subjects were included. The majority (60.6%) were female, aged from 67 to 96. About half (47.3%) had received no formal education. Controlling for age and cognition, there was a significant increase in health literacy after the use of the comic book (coefficient = 2.742, p = 0.001). There was also a significant improvement in medication compliance (total score) (coefficient = −1.018, p < 0.001), reduced knowledge deficiency (coefficient = −0.236, p < 0.05), and reduced storage problems (coefficient = −0.293, p = 0.001) after using comic books. Conclusion: Comic books are a good strategy to improve the health literacy level and medication compliance of community-dwelling older adults.


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