Effects of Resistance Exercise Program on Pain, Stress, Range of Motion, and Body Composition of Older Adults: A...

Aging is connected to a decline in muscular strength, flexibility, and agility. Some studies have found that resistance exercise using an elastic band can prevent chronic health problems such as osteoporosis, degenerative diseases, and frozen shoulders.

The study intended to investigate the effects of a 12-week program of resistance exercise using an elastic band on the pain, stress, range of motion (ROM), and body composition of older adults.

The research team designed a randomized controlled trial (RCT).

The study took place in Gimcheon City in the Republic of Korea.

Participants were 80 adults aged 60 or older residing in the community.

Participants were randomly assigned using random number generation to an intervention group (n = 40) or a control group (n = 40). The intervention group participated in a resistance exercise program using an elastic band three days a week for 12 weeks. The control group followed a daily routine for 12 weeks.

Measurements were conducted three times: at baseline, at the sixth week of treatment, and postinterventon.

Regarding participants' general characteristics and homogeneity of the dependent variables at baseline, no significant differences existed between the groups. Postintervention, 6 weeks a significant difference in stress (F = -4.02, P < .001) between the two groups. Moreover, significant variances in the shoulders' ROM (left, F = 3.40, P < .001; and right, F = 3.83, P < .001) a significant difference. 12 weeks a significant difference in shoulder pain existed (F = 19.58, P < .001), and stress (F = 15.36, P < .001) between the two groups. Moreover, significant variances in the shoulders' ROM (left, F = 4.63, P < .001; and right, F = 5.30, P < .001), as well as in the thickness of muscles (left, F = 5.55, P < .001; and right, F = 3.10, P = .003), between the two groups. As a result of measuring the right fat thickness, a significant difference in the target area was also found (left, F = -2.748, P = .008; and right, F = -3.13, P = .002).

The resistance exercise that participants performed gradually reduced participants' shoulder pain and stress, improved their shoulders' ROM, and increased muscle mass around the shoulder joint. Therefore, the program can be recommended for adults aged 60 or older complaining of shoulder pain, to reduce shoulder pain and stress, improve joint ROM, and enhance body composition around the shoulder joint.