HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Rapid Responses are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bakken, R. C Articles by Intihar, T. W Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bakken, R. C Articles by Intihar, T. W Related Collections Therapeutic Exercise Motor Control and Motor Learning Geriatrics: Other Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Tracking Performance in Elderly People: A Pilot Study

RC Bakken, PT, MSPT, is Physical Therapist, Fairview Southdale Hospital, Edina, Minn. Address all correspondence to Ms Bakken at 2649 Toledo Ave S, St Louis Park, MN 55416 (USA) (curbak{at}yahoo.com)
JR Carey, PT, PhD, is Associate Professor and Director, Program in Physical Therapy, University of Minnesota
RP Di Fabio, PT, PhD, is Professor, Program in Physical Therapy, University of Minnesota
TJ Erlandson, PT, MSPT, is Physical Therapist, Orthopedic Rehabilitation Specialists Inc, Minneapolis and St Louis Park, Minn
JL Hake, PT, MSPT, is Physical Therapist, Courage Center, Golden Valley, Minn
TW Intihar, PT, MSPT, is Physical Therapist, Innovations Rehabilitation, Sparta, Wis

Background and Purpose. Although much is known about the benefits of aerobic exercise on cardiovascular health, little research has been done on the effect of aerobic exercise on motor performance. This study examined whether aerobic exercise has an effect on visuospatial information processing during finger-movement tracking in elderly subjects. Subjects. Fifteen elderly subjects (mean age=83.2 years, SD=5.7, range=72–91) from a senior housing complex were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental (exercise) group. Twelve subjects completed the study, and data obtained for 10 subjects were used for data analysis (2 control subjects were eliminated to allow for matched-pairs analysis between the experimental and control groups). The control group (n=5) had a mean age of 80.2 years (SD=7.8). Subjects in the experimental group (n=5) had a mean age of 84.8 years (SD=2.5). Methods. The intervention consisted of group exercise 3 times a week for 8 consecutive weeks, and included calisthenics (eg, marching in place, side stepping, mock boxing), stationary bicycling, and walking. A finger-movement tracking test and submaximal graded exercise tolerance step tests were performed before and after training to determine changes in finger-movement tracking and any aerobic training effects. Results. Matched-pairs t tests showed a difference in tracking from pretest to posttest in the experimental group compared with the control group. Step test performance did not differ between the 2 groups. Discussion and Conclusion. The results of this small-scale study with a limited number of subjects indicate that, for elderly people, finger-movement tracking performance can improve with aerobic exercise, despite the absence of an aerobic training effect. Possible mechanisms for the treatment effect on information processing are discussed.

Key Words: Aerobic exercise • Elderly • Information processing • Tracking

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?