Abstract
Objective: Older adults constitute a heterogeneous group, and the focus of the individual physical exercise is often subject to the reasoning and experience of health professionals or exercise physiologists who prescribe them. Thus, this is the first effort to explicitly conceptualise the planning of individualised physical exercise training (IPET) for older adults in an outpatient setting and investigate individual exercise preferences. Design: The concept of IPET was developed by researchers, exercise physiologists and health professionals from a real-life outpatient setting using an iterative approach. Health indicators assessing aerobic capacity, strength, balance and musculoskeletal pain/discomfort sites form the basis of physical exercise recommendations. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the basis of implementing IPET. Setting: Outpatient setting. Participants: We included 115 older adults (70 females) from an outpatient setting with a median age of 74 years. Outcome measures: Health indicators assessing aerobic capacity, strength, balance and musculoskeletal pain/discomfort sites were collected and informed the concept of IPET that structures exercise programmes based on the individual citizen’s needs and physical exercise preferences. Exceeding a health indicator cut-point results in exercise content mitigating the risk associated with the health indicator. Results: We included 115 older adults (70 females) from an outpatient setting median age of 74 years. Approximately two-thirds of participants exceeded at least one health indicator cut-point for aerobic training. One-third of the participants exceeded the cut-point for upper extremity strength, and almost all participants >99% exceeded the cut-point for lower extremity strength. Approximately two-thirds of the participants exceeded the cut-point for functional/balance training. The most prevalent site of musculoskeletal pain was the lower extremities. Eight of 20 training combinations were used, clustering the 115 participants primarily in three main training combinations. Discussion: This study shows that older adults vary in physical functioning, indicating that exercise preferences and rehabilitation needs are individual. Trial registration number: NCT04862481.
Original language | English |
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Article number | e075726 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | BMJ open |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 5 Mar 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 5 Mar 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Funding The study was supported by grants from ‘Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond’ (Case number: 8045-00052B), Danske Fysioterapeuters Fond for Forskning, Uddannelse og Praksisudvikling (grant number N/A) and University College Absalon (grant number N/A).Keywords
- PUBLIC HEALTH
- SPORTS MEDICINE
- Musculoskeletal disorders