Introduction. Low muscle strength is common and important in geriatric syndromes including frailty and sarcopenia. The epidemiology of grip strength of older people under long-term care facilities has been little explored.Purpose. The aim of this study was to assess handgrip strength of older women and men covered by institutional care and to analyse the associations between HGS and mobility, leg strength, flexibility, and postural balance.Materials and Methods. This is a cross-sectional study carried out at care homes in southeastern Poland. After considering the inclusion criteria, 209 older people aged 65 to 85 were included in the study. Sociodemographic data were collected, and tests of muscular strength, mobility, flexibility, and postural balance were carried out by the use of the stabilometric platform CQ Stab 2P.Results. The average handgrip strength in the study group amounted to 19.8 kg, including 14.8 kg in women and 25.9 kg in men. Low grip strength was found in 67.83% women and 52.13% men in institutional care. A negative correlation between handgrip strength (HGS) and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test was demonstrated, both with and without cognitive task and strength of lower limbs. Gait speed and dynamic balance were positively correlated with HGS. A negative correlation was found between the total length of the centre of pressure (COP) path, the length of the COP path in the lateral-medial direction, and the sway area delimited by the COP and HGS for the dominant hand. Speaking of women, gait speed was most strongly associated with HGS, while among men, it was upper limb flexibility.Conclusion. Regardless of gender, HGS is associated with mobility, strength of the lower limbs, and dynamic balance. By means of simple tools, early diagnosis will facilitate the planning of appropriate interventions in order to prevent disability and mortality in long-term care facilities.

Introduction: Over the last few decades, the quality of care and the quality of life of nursing home (NH) residents have significantly improved, but insufficient physical activity and social involvement still represent substantial challenges in modern nursing facilities. The main aim of this research was to assess the influence of physical exercises with dance movement therapy (DMT) elements on strength and other fitness components of the upper limbs and the overall functional performance of NH residents in wheelchairs compared to standard exercise programmes and usual care. Method: The study participants were persons aged 68–85 who lived in NH and used manual wheelchairs as a primary means of mobility. Individuals meeting the inclusion criteria were assigned to one of the three groups: Group 1, basic exercise/BE group (n = 55); group 2, physical exercises with elements of dance movement therapy/PED group (n = 55); and group 3, control group, usual care/CO group (n = 55). The intervention for both exercising groups consisted of a 30-min session, two times a week, for 12 weeks in total. Outcome assessments were performed at baseline, 12 weeks after baseline (immediately after the intervention) and 24 weeks after baseline (12 weeks after the intervention). The main outcome was observed for hand grip strength (HGS), while secondary outcomes for box and block test (BBT), arm curl test (ACT), back scratch test (BS), chair sit-and-reach (CSR), peak expiratory flow (PEF), Barthel Index (BI), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and the range of motion of the shoulder. Results: Prior to the start of the exercise programmes, all the tested groups were homogeneous. After 12 weeks the PED group presented higher statistically significant scores in HGS_L, BBT, ACT, BS, CSR, BI, BBS: p < 0.001 and HGS_R: p = 0.01, compared to the BE group. After 24 weeks from the beginning of the intervention the comparison between the PED group and the BE group showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.001) in favour of PED group in almost all areas: HGS_R, HGS_L, BBT: ACT, PEF, BS, CSR, BI. After 12 and 24 weeks both intervention groups performed better than the CO in all measures except for Katz ADL and shoulder extension. Conclusion: Twelve weeks of physical exercises had beneficial effects on the strength and fitness of the upper limbs and overall functional performance in both exercise groups. This study demonstrated that group performing physical exercises with elements of DMT obtained statistically better scores in the majority of analysed domains than other groups. Trial registration: The study was registered in the Sri Lanka Clinical Trials Registry (Registration Number - SLCTR/2018/014 - Date of Registration 16/05/2018. Accessed on https://slctr.lk/trials/1045).

Background: The aging is a multi-faceted process comprising both—the physical and mental alterations. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the variables affecting the psychophysical state of the elderly people using wheelchairs and living in nursing homes (NH). Methods: 165 older wheelchair users were included in the study after meeting the inclusion criteria and expressing written consent. The assessment involved cognitive functioning, depression, body balance and flexibility, lung capacity and upper limbs dexterity, strenght and endurance. The results showed negative correlation between depression and balance, upper limb dexterity and endurance and shoulder flexion. A positive correlation between cognitive functioning and balance, upper limb dexterity, strenght and endurance, lung capacity and joint mobility was determined. Also, the study proved positive correlation between daily functioning and functional fitness, muscle strength and endurance, body flexibility, joint mobility. The regression analysis showed that better scores in balance test and joint mobility implied with higher scores in cognitive functioning. The most important determinants of functional fitness were balance, hand grip strenght and joint mobility. Conclusion: The future study should be focused on developing interventions aimed at senior wheelchair users living in NHs to prevent the deterioration of their mental and physical fitness.

A multifactorial exercise programs for older people should be introduced to low-income communities. Of the 138 people who volunteered for the trial, 50 were enrolled and randomly assigned to either the study group (multifactorial exercises and health education; MEE) or the control group (health education; E). Results shown that the MEE group had significantly improved tandem test results and mobility. Improvement in all items of the Senior Fitness Test was also observed. No statistically significant changes were observed in the control group. A multifactorial exercise program combined with health education resulted in a significant improvement in the functional status of elderly people with low incomes.

Older people in institutional care are, for the most part, physically inactive and do not interact with each other or medical staff. Therefore, reducing sedentary behaviour is a new, important, and modifiable lifestyle variable that can improve the health of elderly people. The aim of the project was to assess the degree of improvement in functional performance and the possibility of changing habitual, free time behaviour among elderly people under institutional care by applying physical training with verbal stimulation. The study covered older people, aged 65–85 years, who are living a sedentary lifestyle in care homes in Southeastern Poland. Those who met the eligibility criteria were enrolled in the study and were assigned, at random, to one of four parallel groups: basic exercises (n = 51), basic exercises combined with verbal stimulation (n = 51), functional exercise training (n = 51), and functional exercise training with verbal stimulation (n = 51). No statistically significant differences in baseline characteristics were observed across the groups. Data were collected at baseline and at 12 and 24-weeks following the completion of the intervention. In the group with functional exercise training with verbal stimulation, in comparison to the group with basic exercises, the greatest positive short-term impact of intervention was demonstrated in terms of functional fitness (increased by 1.31 points; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.93–1.70), gait speed (improved by 0.17 m/s, 95% CI = 0.13–0.22), hand grip strength (by over 4 kg; 95% CI = 2.51–4.95), and upper-limb flexibility (by 10 cm; 95% CI = 5.82–12.65). There was also a significant increase in the level of free-time physical activity and an improvement in the quality of life, especially as expressed in the domain of overall physical functioning. Our study showed that a functional exercise program, combined with verbal stimulation, is effective at improving physical fitness and raising the level of free-time physical activity.