Janice Tai
When someone grows old and frail,many caregivers put them in blan-kets or on wheelchairs. Yet, new re-search suggests they might be betteroff working out in gyms.
After using special fitness equip-ment twice a week for at least threemonths, about 180 seniors from 13eldercare facilities here were foundto have better balance. They wereable to stand up for longer periodsand walk longer distances.
For example, the longest distancewalked in the preceding seven daysrose from 790m to 970m on averagefor those who live at home but useeldercare centres, and from 680mto 760m for those in a nursing home.
The improvement in leg musclestrength also meant they could bet-ter manage daily routines, such aseating and dressing, and with lesssupervision. The average age of theparticipants was 72.
“The results are rather signifi-cant in terms of improvementrates and when compared with oth-er studies,” said study researcherMagnus Bjorkgren, who heads thehealth science unit at JyvaskylaUniversity in Finland. “We nowhave some indications of peoplegetting more independent.”
He will present the findings at thesecond Singapore InternationalPublic Health Conference, whichstarts on Thursday.
The gym equipment used in theresearch is from Finland. Local phi-lanthropic house Lien Foundation
has committed $3.5 million to fundthe bulk of the equipment and train-ing costs for the therapists.
The machines use an air-pressuresystem that is gentler on musclesand joints. Weights can be in-creased in 100g steps instead of theusual 5kg in typical machines.
Smart cards ensure that equip-ment settings adjust automaticallyto the user, and a senior’s perform-ance on a machine is tracked by soft-ware, so physiotherapists can thentweak individualised regimens.
Around 1,000 seniors are alreadyusing the pneumatic gym machinesin 16 nursing homes and eldercarecentres. It is estimated that, by2018, 4,500 seniors will have accessto such machines.
Exercise therapist Andrew Yeofrom Peacehaven nursing homesaid physical inactivity is a big prob-lem among senior citizens.
“The frail are often caught in a vi-cious circle of inactivity,” he said.“Afraid of falling, they don’t exer-cise, and this makes them weaker,to the point of being bed-bound.”
Physical inactivity is the fourthbiggest factor contributing todeaths globally, according to theWorld Health Organisation.
In the early 1990s, Finland wasone of the first countries to push forstrength training for the elderly.Now, more than 90 per cent of itscitizens aged 75 or above are able tolive at home. Only 3 per cent live inlong-term institutional centres.
Such gym programmes also helpreduce healthcare costs as hip frac-tures from falls can result in costly
medical bills, said Dr Bjorkgren.Every 32 minutes, an elderly per-
son turns up at a public hospitalemergency department because ofan injury from a fall. Each month,about 100 seniors find themselvesin hospital, staying a week or morebecause of such injuries, The StraitsTimes reported last year.
The number of hip fracturesamong people aged 50 or oldertreated at public hospitals rosefrom 1,900 in 2004 to 2,500 in 2014– with half of them involving thoseaged 80 or older. According to re-
search, strength and balance train-ing can reduce falls by up to half.
Madam Ooi Sai Hiang, 73, oncesuffered knee pain whenever shestood up or walked. Because of thepain and other medical conditions,she had to give up pastimes such asbingo. The isolation and lifestylechanges made her depressed.
After she started working outtwice a week in the special gym atAWWA Rehab and Day Care Centrein Ang Mo Kio in January, the painin her knee went away. Tests donein June found she could walk up to
1.1km. She can now go to her nearbywet market or mall on her own.
“I was quite surprised and a bitfrightened when the therapistasked me to use the gym equip-ment because it looks like it’smade for bodybuilders or sports-men, and I had not exercised in agym before,” she said.
“I thought there would be no curefor my knee pain, especially at thisage. I am amazed as the pain hadtroubled me for a very long time.”
Every other day, Mr Richard Limlifts 5kg dumbbells 100 times anddoes 100 push-ups.
But he is no young man pushinghimself hard at the gym. He is 77years old and works out at home.
“I am the odd one out,” said MrLim. “As a grassroots volunteer forthe last 12 years, I see many seniorseither cooping themselves up athome watching TV, playing mah-jong or just sitting down at coffeeshops to chat. Whenever I ask themto join me to exercise, they say no.”
According to a National Sport In-dex Survey conducted two yearsyears ago, 64 per cent of respond-ents who exercise less than once amonth cited age and health issuesas the main reasons why they donot exercise regularly.
To help address concerns fromolder folk that exercising may putthem at higher risk of injuries, thenational movement for sport – Ac-tiveSG – joined hands with the Sin-gapore Physiotherapy Associationto come up with a special fitnesstest for the elderly.
It is believed to be the first of itskind, as other tests for seniors usu-ally involve just health screenings.The test will help to determine whe-
ther the person is suitable for sportor physical activity and if so, whatkinds of activities he should opt for.
“Age should never be a reason forseniors to shun sports,” said Ac-tiveSG chief Lai Chin Kwang. “Regu-
lar exercise is key to ageing well andensuring a high quality of life, physi-cally and mentally,” he added.
Mr Jazimin Haron, from the Singa-pore Physiotherapy Association,said: “The test can help reduce the
risk of injury of a participant as it al-lows participants to identify thecomponent of fitness in which theyhave their strengths or weaknesses.
“From the results, physiothera-pists can then recommend specif-ic exercises to improve their fit-ness and stay active.”
Yesterday, about 100 seniorstook the test at the Pasir Ris SportsComplex. The test measured fivemain domains of fitness: strength,flexibility, aerobic fitness, agilityand balance.
To measure upper limb flexibili-ty, for instance, seniors were askedto stretch both arms towards theirback and see how much their mid-dle fingers were able to meet.
People under 60 can also take thetest, although it is slightly modifiedfor their age group.
Though Mr Lim excelled in al-most all aspects of the test yester-day, he did not do well on the bal-ance component. It was recom-mended that he start doing certainexercises at home and join K-popor zumba classes, which couldhelp improve his balance.
Madam Tan Sai Choo, 72, who al-so took the test yesterday, said:“Many daily activities can causepain in the knee for me, so I try tolimit my exercise. But the test andadvice have given me more confi-dence to try new exercises.”
Janice Tai
• For more information on the testsessions, visit MyActiveSG.com
Madam Ooi using a Gym Tonic machine with help from senior occupational therapist P. Pandiarajan.She no longer suffers knee pain and can go to the wet market by herself. ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
Terminally-ill patients at Assi-si Hospice have been workingout at a gym to improve theirwell-being and quality of life,as well as retain their dignityin the final stages of their lives.
They have been using exer-cise bikes, weights on pulleysand loose weights for theirworkouts since 2007.
Next month, they will getpneumatic gym equipmentfrom the Lien Foundation initi-ative.
Assisi chief executive ChooShiu Ling said: “The new equip-ment can be used by everyone,including those on wheelchairsand those who are very weak,as strength training can start atvery low resistance, and bothstaff and patients do not needto deal with loose weights.”
Lien Foundation hopes oth-er groups of people – includingpsychiatric patients and thosewho are terminally ill – will al-so benefit from them.
Banyan Home, a residentialfacility for men who are desti-tute and mentally ill, receivedits new machines in July. MrJames Poon, its senior person-al care officer, said: “We knewthat if our residents did nothave the physical fitness to per-form daily activities or tasks in-dependently, their quality oflife is likely to suffer.
“We initially thought of in-stalling a set of fitness equip-ment similar to those found inHDB estates, but those maycause injury to residents whoare more frail, as they cannotbe calibrated. The new ma-chines came just in time andour residents are fascinated. ”
Janice Tai
Mr Lim taking the fitness test yesterday at Pasir Ris Sports Complex while hiswife, Madam Tan Sai Choo (left), looks on. ST PHOTO: MARCUS TAN
Special equipment helps seniors regain independenceby improving balance and strengthening leg muscles
Improving patients’quality of life
New fitness test helps seniorswork out best exercise for them
Best tonic forthe elderlymay be a gymworkout: Study
B4 HOME | THE STRAITS TIMES | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016 |
Source: The Straits Times © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
