Objectives: To examine the effects of age on functional fitness after six weeks of detraining. Methods: Elderly subjects, aged 60-86 years, completed a nine week multicomponent exercise training programme. They performed the senior fitness test every two weeks during the six week detraining period, and the responses of 12 young-old subjects (YO, aged 60-73 years) and nine older subjects (O, aged 74-86 years) were compared. Results: Functional fitness improved during the exercise training period. Performances in the chair stand and six minute walk for the O group had significantly declined compared with post-training values after two weeks of detraining (p,0.01), whereas there were no significant changes in the YO group. Scores on the functional fitness tests declined further between two and four weeks of detraining in both of the groups (p,0.01). In the YO group, there were significant losses in performance on the chair stand, chair sit and reach, and six minute walk tests, and in the O group on the chair stand and up and go tests after six weeks of detraining compared with after four weeks of detraining (p,0.01). The components of functional fitness most affected by detraining were lower extremity flexibility after two and four weeks of detraining, and agility/dynamic balance after six weeks of detraining. Conclusion: Changes in lower extremity flexibility, up and go, and six minute walk performances in response to six weeks of detraining are affected by age in elderly adults. F unctional fitness is defined as having the physical capacity to perform normal everyday activities safely and independently without undue fatigue and includes components such as lower and upper body muscle strength, lower and upper body flexibility, aerobic endurance, and motor agility/dynamic balance.1 The percentage decline in the functional fitness items is generally consistent with age related declines in physical performance. 2 Despite studies suggesting that training helps to attenuate the effects of aging on functional fitness, 3-5 it is not known for how long these beneficial effects are maintained. Detraining often occurs in previously sedentary people who participate in exercise for several weeks or months and then stop. 6 Most studies of detraining in elderly people have reported only partial loss of the gains in muscular strength achieved during training.7-14 However, one study reported a return to pre-training strength after one year of detraining, 15 and another showed an even greater decline to a level below pre-training values. 16 In contrast, gains in cardiovascular fitness last longer in elderly people.7 Furthermore, few studies have examined the effects of detraining on functional capacity in elderly people. 10 12 15 16 Therefore the purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of six weeks detraining on functional fitness in youngold (YO, aged 60-73 years) and older (O, aged 74-86 years) subjects, and to determine whether functional fitness responded differently to detraining in these age groups. METHODS Pa...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 9-week supervised multicomponent exercise program on functional fitness and body composition in independent older adults. Forty-two adults age 60–86 years were randomly assigned to an exercise or a control group and were evaluated before and after training. The training program consisted of 3 sessions of walking, strengthening, and flexibility exercises per week. The multicomponent training program resulted in significant (p < .005) improvements on the chair stand, arm curl, 6-min walk, and up-and-go tests. The findings of this study indicate that a 9-week training program increased upper and lower body strength, aerobic endurance, and agility/dynamic balance in older adults. The most affected components of functional fitness were lower body strength and aerobic endurance. There was no effect of the 9-week training on body composition.

Objectives: To assess the effects of short (six weeks) and long (52 weeks) term detraining on functional fitness in elderly people, and to determine whether these effects differ according to age in elderly people. Methods: Elderly subjects, aged 60-86 years, completed a nine week multicomponent exercise training programme. They performed the senior fitness test after six and 52 weeks, and the responses of 12 youngold subjects (YO, aged 60-73 years) and nine older subjects (O, aged 74-86 years) were compared. Results: Functional fitness improved during the exercise training period. Short term detraining caused a loss of this improvement in functional performance. Performance on the chair stand test for both YO and O groups and on the up and go and six minute walk tests for the YO group remained significantly higher than before training after six weeks of detraining (p,0.013). Performance in all tests reverted to the pretraining values or lower after 52 weeks of detraining in both groups. In the O group, performances in the six minute walk test and arm curl test were lower than before training (p,0.013). The components of functional fitness most affected by detraining were agility with short term detraining, and aerobic endurance and upper extremity strength with long term detraining. Conclusion: Changes in functional capacity after short and long term detraining are affected by age in elderly adults. R egular exercise has many health benefits and can prevent certain diseases.1 2 However, to retain these benefits, one must remain physically active throughout life. Because of chronic disease, stays in hospital, or the side effects of drugs, elderly people are more prone to interruptions in their exercise programmes than are younger adults.Detraining occurs after the cessation of training, when previous adaptations are gradually lost.3 Most studies of detraining in elderly people have focused on the effects on muscular strength, 4-14 performance measures of physical function, 8 9 11 body composition, 6 and blood lipid concentration. 12 In these studies, detraining generally follows moderate to high intensity resistance training, 4-14 and few studies have focused on the effects of detraining after cardiovascular exercise training. 4 To my knowledge, no studies have compared the effects of short and long term detraining on functional fitness, nor have any determined whether such effects differ with age in elderly people. Functional fitness is defined as having the physiological capacity to perform normal everyday activities safely and independently without undue fatigue. 15In the laboratory, we compared the responses of young-old (YO, aged 60-73 years) and older (O, aged 74-86 years) subjects to a standardised multicomponent exercise training programme and subsequent period of detraining to determine whether regular physical activity influences the age related changes in functional fitness during detraining. The aims were to determine the effects of short (six weeks) and long (52 weeks) term detraining on functional f...

The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy of kinesiological taping and subacromial injection therapy in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS). Seventy patients diagnosed with SIS were randomly assigned to group 1 (n = 35, injection group) or group 2 (n = 35, kinesiological taping group). Betamethasone plus prilocaine was injected to subacromial space in the patients in group 1. In group 2, tape was applied three times for a period of five consecutive days with a 2-day recovery interval. A 3-month exercise program was prescribed for both groups including stretching and strengthening exercises. All patients were assessed at baseline and at 1 and 3 months post-intervention. Assessments were made by visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, range of motion (ROM) measurements, specific tests, and Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). Significant differences were detected in VAS and SPADI scores as well as ROM measurements in both groups when compared to baseline (p > 0.05). No significant differences were detected between the groups except for active flexion degree in favor of group 1 (p = 0.004). Both kinesiological taping and steroid injection in conjunction with an exercise program were found to be effective in the treatment of SIS. Kinesio taping may be an alternative treatment option in the rehabilitation of SIS especially when a non-invasive technique is needed.

The current study supports that suprascapular nerve block is a safe and well-tolerated method. PT was found to be effective in reducing pain severity and functional disability, and the addition of suprascapular nerve block to PT improved functional status and pain levels in patients with adhesive capsulitis.

In a retrospective cross-sectional study among 202 postmenopausal women aged 46-75 years, we aimed to investigate the relationship between body composition and bone mineral density (BMD) to determine whether fat mass or lean mass is a better determinant of BMD in Turkish postmenopausal women. Lumbar spine (L1-L4) and proximal femur BMD were measured by dual energy X-ray absorbsiometry. Body composition analysis was performed by bioelectric impedance method and fat mass, lean mass, and percent fat were measured. Both fat mass and lean mass were positively correlated with BMD at the lumbar spine and proximal femur, weight and body mass index. Lean mass was also positively correlated with height and negatively correlated with age and years since menopause (P < 0.01). The correlations of fat mass and lean mass with BMD at the lumbar spine and proximal femur remained significant after adjustment for age, years since menopause and height. When the lean mass was adjusted together with age, years since menopause and height, the significant relationship between the fat mass and BMD continued, however the significant correlation between the lean mass and BMD disappeared at all sites after adjustment for fat mass. In multiple regression analyses, fat mass was the significant determinant of all BMD sites. Our data suggest that fat mass is the significant determinant of BMD at the lumbar spine and proximal femur, and lean mass does not have an impact on BMD when fat mass was taken into account in Turkish postmenopausal women.

Vitamin D is known to increase levels of dopamine and its metabolites in the brain and also protects dopaminergic neurons against dopaminergic toxins. The aims of the study were to assess the frequency and symptom severity of restless leg syndrome (RLS) and sleep quality in vitamin D deficiency. A total of 102 patients were enrolled in this cross-sectional study, comprising 57 vitamin D deficient patients as Group 1 and 45 patients with normal levels of vitamin D as Group 2. RLS was diagnosed according to the International RLS Study Group (IRLSSG) diagnostic criteria. Symptom severity was assessed using the IRLSSG rating scale and sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). RLS incidence was higher in Group 1 (p = 0.034). The PSQI scores were higher in Group 1 and the difference between the groups was determined as statistically significant (p < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was determined in respect of the clinical evaluation and the IRLSSG Symptom Severity Scale between the patients in Group 1 diagnosed with RLS and the patients in Group 2 diagnosed with RLS (p > 0.05). The findings of this study support the hypothesis that RLS is more frequent and more severe in vitamin D deficiency and indicate a negative effect of vitamin deficiency on sleep parameters.

The aim of this study is to assess the effect of a 12 week multicomponent exercise training program on the quality of life in females with knee osteoarthritis. Thirty four subjects, aged 50-69 years, completed a 12 week multicomponent exercise training program. The SF-36 and WOMAC were applied at baseline, at mid-training, and post-training, and the responses of the exercise group (EG) and the control group (CG) were compared. The multicomponent training program resulted in significant group differences in all domains of SF-36 (p < 0.004), while there were no group difference in WOMAC domains (p > 0.004). In the EG between mid-training and baseline period vitality score increased; physical performance and general health scores increased between mid-training and post-training period; physical function, body pain, mental health, vitality, and general health scores increased between baseline and post-training period (p < 0.004). Between mid-training and baseline period of the WOMAC domains changed in the EG (p > 0.004), while all domains increased between mid-training and post-training and also between baseline and post-training (p < 0.004). Changes in quality of life after multicomponent training are affected by the different evaluation techniques.