Regular exercise for nursing home residents can still be beneficial, even if they’ve never participated in structured programs throughout their lives, according to a new study.
The muscle-building ability healthy seniors displayed was comparable to that of master athletes in their 70s and 80s, who have been lifelong exercisers and still compete at the top levels in their sport, according to researchers from the University of Birmingham’s School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences.
Study participants were given an isotope tracer before participating in a single session of exercise, which involved weight training on an exercise machine. Researchers then compared their muscle biopsies to look for signs of how the muscles were responding to the exercises.
The groups had the same ability to build muscle in response to exercise.
“Current public health advice on strength training for older people is often quite vague. What’s needed is more specific guidance on how individuals can improve their muscle strength, even outside of a gym setting through, activities undertaken in their homes.
“Activities such as gardening, walking up and down stairs, or lifting up a shopping bag can all help if undertaken as part of a regular exercise regime,” said lead researcher Leigh Breen, Ph.D.
Findings were published in Frontiers in Physiology.
From the October 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
