Article
Effects of arthritis exercise programs on functional fitness and perceived activities of daily living measures in older adults with arthritis1,

https://doi.org/10.1053/S0003-9993(03)00278-8Get rights and content

Abstract

Objective

To ascertain the effectiveness of the National Arthritis Foundation (NAF) aquatic and on-land exercise programs on functional fitness and perceived ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL) measures in older adults with arthritis.

Design

The effects of aquatic and on-land exercise intervention programs were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance by using a planned comparison approach with an independent 3×2 (group by test) design. ω2 analyses were used to ascertain the relative treatment magnitude of each dependent variable.

Setting

Testing in an indoor track facility; exercise programs conducted in community settings.

Participants

A volunteer sample of 30 men and women with arthritis (osteoarthritis, n=22; rheumatoid arthritis, n=8), randomly assigned into either an aquatic exercise (n=10), on-land exercise (n=10), or control group (n=10).

Intervention

Eight-week on-land and aquatic exercise program.

Main outcome measures

Functional fitness, ADLs, and hand-held dynamometry measures assessed on a 1-day pretest and posttest session, before and after an 8-week exercise program.

Results

Aquatic and on-land exercise subjects showed significant improvements on 9 of 12 functional fitness, 3 of 4 ADLs, and 7 of 8 hand-held isometric strength tests after their respective exercise programs. No significant changes were found in any of these measures for the control group.

Conclusion

Both NAF exercise programs appear to be effective in improving functional physical fitness and perceived ability to perform ADL measures in older adults with arthritis.

Section snippets

Participants

Subjects were recruited via newspaper advertisements and flyers to area physicians, Young Men’s Christian Association centers, and various agencies for aging. Eligibility criteria for this investigation were men or women between the ages of 60 and 79 years, a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or osteoarthritis from either a rheumatologist or an orthopedic physician, no medical condition precluding increased physical activity, no involvement in an organized exercise program in the past 3 months,

Reliability and treatment effect size measures

The ICCs for the hand-held dynamometry isometric measures of shoulder and hip abduction tests for all 3 subject groups yielded high reliability for both test sessions, with all reliability estimates between .95 and .99. The ω2 values calculated to determine the relative magnitude of the treatment effect of each of the dependent variables indicated a “large” effect for 10 of the 12 dependent variables measured (table 2).

Normative values

A 1-way ANOVA on the physical characteristics of the subjects indicated no

Discussion

Reliability of the hand-held dynamometry tests for this investigation was high (ICC range, .95–.99). The ICCs obtained in this investigation were similar to values (ICC range, .84–.99) obtained in 2 earlier studies11, 18 on older adults with arthritis using similar protocols. The reliability indices obtained in this investigation further document the use of hand-held dynamometry as a reliable method for assessing strength in persons with arthritis.

The ω2 analyses used on the dependent measures

Conclusion

The data in this investigation indicate that both NAF aquatic and on-land exercise programs are effective in promoting increases in functional fitness and ADL measures for older adults with arthritis. Although these increases may result from the physical activities practiced within each program, further study into the effects of the educational and social components of these programs may be warranted.

References (26)

  • PACE: people with arthritis can exercise program guidelines and procedures

    (1996)
  • AFAPArthritis Foundation Aquatic Program guidelines and procedures

    (1996)
  • R. Suomi et al.

    Effectiveness of Arthritis Foundation aquatic program on strength and range of motion in women with arthritis

    J Aging Phys Activity

    (1997)
  • Cited by (0)

    Supported in part by the University Personnel Development Committee, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and the Wisconsin Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

    1

    No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.

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