Vitality Acupunch Exercise Program for Sarcopenia Older Adults

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Activities of Daily Living; Functional Fitness
• Interventions: Other: Control; Other: Vitality acupunch (VA) exercise program

• Registration Number: NCT04504786
• Lead Sponsor: Kaohsiung Medical University

Brief Summary

This project was aimed to test the effects of a six-month VA program on the activities of daily living (ADL) and functional fitness of institutional older adults with sarcopenia.

Detailed Description

A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the effects of a six-month VA program on ADL and functional fitness (lung capacity, body flexibility, range of the joint's motion, and muscle endurance) of institutional older adults with sarcopenia. Using convenience sampling, 12 long-term care facilities with 114 older adults were recruited, and then cluster-randomized by the facility to a VA experimental or a control group. The experimental group received the VA program led by certified instructors 3 times per week and 40 minutes per session for six months; the control group continued with their regular daily activities. One pre-test and two post-tests, three months apart, were conducted.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-08-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-08-05
• Study Start: 2020-08-07
• Study First Posted: 2020-08-07
• Status Verified: 2021-03
• Primary Completion: 2021-03-06
• Study Completion: 2021-03-06
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-03-09
• Last Update Posted: 2021-03-11

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 114

Inclusion Criteria

• age ≥ 65 years old
• have been living in the facility for at least three months
• intact cognitive function with the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score ≥ 8
• hand-grip strength < 28 kg for men and < 18 kg for women
• calf circumference < 34 cm for men and < 33 cm for women

Exclusion Criteria

• have spinal cord injury
• have severe cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases
• have musculoskeletal diseases

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Control	Control	Participants in the control group continued with their daily activities as usual.
Vitality acupunch (VA)	Vitality acupunch (VA) exercise program	The VA program took 40 minutes to complete and included three phases: 1) activating qi and blood (5 movements, 10 minutes): warm-up exercises that allowed the body to accumulate heat and promote flexibility of the joints to loosen up the body, 2) punching meridians (14 movements, 20 minutes): both hands were used to exert a vibrating effect according to the rhythms that stimulate the 14 meridians in the entire body to improve aerobic endurance, and 3) relaxing body and mind (5 movements, 10 minutes): muscle relaxing exercises to rest the body and cease the qi. Participants in the experimental group received the VA program led by the instructors, who were trained and certified by the PI, 3 times per week and 40 minutes per session for 6 months.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Range of joint motion	6 months	measured by the goniometry
Upper body flexibility	6 months	measured by the Back Scratch Test
Lower body flexibility	6 months	measured by the Chair Sit-and-Reach Test
Leg muscle endurance	6 months	measured by the Chair-to-Stand Test
Lung capacity	6 months	measured by the TruZoneTM Peak Flow Meter
Arm muscle endurance	6 months	measured by the Arm Curl Test

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Activities of daily living (ADL)	6 months	measured by the Barthel Index. The score of "0-20" means totally dependent; "21-60" means heavily dependent; "61-90" means moderately dependent; "91-99" means mildly dependent; "100" indicates total independence in the ADL of a person.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Kaohsiung Medical University; 🇨🇳 Kaohsiung, Taiwan