Authors (including presenting author) :
Lui KW(1), Chan CL(1), Tam KFS(2), Poon MWY(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, HKBH (2)Department of Medicine, HKBH
Introduction :
Sarcopenia has been identified as major geriatric syndrome in aging population. Adverse impacts include faster functional decline, fall risk and hospitalization, which impose high cost on healthcare system. Resistance exercise is common treatment to improve sarcopenia. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation(NMES) could improve muscle mass in older adults. Yet, no studies have investigated effect of adding NMES to resistance exercise in sarcopenic older adults.
Objectives :
To evaluate effectiveness of adding NMES to resistance exercise on muscle mass, muscle strength, functional performance and balance for sacropenic older adults
Methodology :
Randomized control trial study design was adopted with ethical approval obtained from research committee(KC/KE-20-0329/FR-3). Sarcopenic older adults aged above 60 was recruited from Day Rehabilitation Centre and Physiotherapy Outpatient Department of the Hong Kong Buddhist Hospital. Subjects were randomly assigned into either Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation with exercise group(NMES+Ex group) or Exercise group(Ex group). NMES+Ex group received NMES superimposing with strengthening exercise to four major muscles, whereas Ex group received strengthening exercise alone. Both groups received aerobic exercise with ergometer. The training programme lasted for 12 weeks. Outcome measures including muscle mass, handgrip strength, timed-up-and-go test(TUG), short physical performance battery(SPPB) and Berg Balance Scale(BBS), were measured at baseline, 6 week and end of training. Statistical analysis was conducted using two-way repeated measures ANOVA.
Result & Outcome :
Twenty-six subjects (5 males and 21 females;mean age:78.65±9.09 years) were recruited. No significant between-group difference in baseline characteristics was found. Upon completion of the 12-week training, both groups showed significant improvement in handgrip strength, SPPB, and BBS. Regarding muscle mass, only NMES+Ex group showed significant improvement in muscle mass from 14.92±1.89kg to 16.1±2.37kg (p<0.001). Furthermore, functional mobility(TUG) significantly improved from 22.06±12.08s to 14.11±6.87s in NMES+Ex group(p=0.003) and significant time and group interaction effect was found (p=0.01). Moreover, 77% of subjects became non-sarcopenic in NMES+Ex group while 64% of them became non-sarcopenic in Ex group after 12-week treatment.
Result of this pilot study shed some light on intervention for sacropenia. Resistance exercise is effective in improving muscle strength, functional mobility and balance performance. Incorporating NMES into muscle strengthening regime may lead to improvement in muscle mass and further improve functional mobility. This may help to reverse the sacropenia situation. Further study with larger sample size may show effect of NMES in other outcomes.
