Strength Training Promotes Functional Independence in Seniors

Posted on 2009-09-24 06:00:00 in Arthritis | Exercise |

Typically, strength weakens with age, which can lead to disability and increased risk of falls. Chiung-ju Liu, of Indiana University (USA), and colleagues studied data from 121 trials involving 6,700 older men and women. Overall, the team found that progressive resistance training reduced weakness and improved study subjects’ abilities to perform both basic and more complex tasks of daily living. Further, those osteoarthritis patients who engaged in progressive resistance training reported a reduction in pain. Write the researchers: "Older adults seem to benefit from this type of exercise even at the age of 80, and even with some type of health condition."

Chiung-ju Liu, Nancy K Latham. "Progressive resistance strength training for improving physical function in older adults." The Cochrane Library, online 8 July 2009.

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