Influence of physical exercise on the functional capacity in institutionalized elderly

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction: With the rapid increase in life expectancy, systematic physical exercise programs can have a good influence on the functional capacity of the elderly, especially in relation to institutionalization. Objective: To analyze the association between a systematic physical exercise program and functional capacity in institu-tionalized elderly. Methods: The sample included 30 elderly subjects (16 women and 14 men) aged 60 years or older (mean age = 74.43), divided into a control group (n=16) and a training group (n=14), residents in a long-stay institution. A training protocol of 12 weeks, two weekly sessions, was applied, and functional capa-city was assessed before and after the intervention, through chair lift tests (lower limb strength), upper limb strength, timed up and go and handgrip dynamometry. The analysis pre and post-training of intervention and control groups was performed using paired Student t test and the ANOVA test for repeated measures. The level of significance was set at 5%. Results: The main statistical significance were found for the following functional tests: upper limb strength (training 15.6±4.1 x control 10.7±6.6 rep, p<0.05) and chair lift test (training 11.0±4.0 x control 8.0±3.1 rep, p<0.05). Conclusion: The protocol used proved to be effective in improving some of the functional capabilities of the institutionalized elderly.