Efficacy of home-based exercise for improving quality of life among elderly women with symptomatic osteoporosis-related vertebral fractures. Effect of exercise on mobility, balance, and health-related quality of life in osteoporotic women with a history of vertebral fracture: a randomized, controlled trial. Effects of an exercise and manual therapy program on physical impairments, function and quality-of-life in people with osteoporotic vertebral fracture: a randomised, single-blind controlled pilot trial. The effects of a community exercise program on fracture risk factors in older women. Can elderly patients who have had a hip fracture perform moderate- to high-intensity exercise at home?
This randomized controlled trial was designed to investigate the effect of a 6-month home-based exercise program versus control (usual activities) on quality of life for postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who had at least one vertebral fracture. Twelve-month assessments of outcomes were completed to determine if women would continue exercising with minimal supervision and if benefit could be sustained. The home exercise program followed a "lifestyle exercise" approach where participants completed exercises 60 min per day, 3 days a week and could complete exercises in small periods of time throughout the day. Exercise activities included stretching, strength training and aerobics (i.e. walking). Participants were assessed at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months using the Osteoporosis Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ), the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), a balance test, and the Timed Up And Go test. Bone mineral density was assessed at baseline and 12 months for both the lumbar spine and femoral neck. Quality of life (OQLQ) improved over 6 months in the exercise group compared to the control group in the domains of symptoms (P=0.003), emotion (P=0.01) and leisure (P=0.03). Results from the balance test indicated a greater effect in the exercise group over 12 months (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in measures of Timed Up and Go, SIP at 6 and 12 months, and femoral neck and lumbar spine bone mineral density at 12 months. Home-based exercise with minimal supervision improves quality of life in elderly women with vertebral fractures. Future research is needed to determine if home exercise programs reduce falls and fall-related injuries in the elderly. The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the effect of a 3-month course of exercises on mobility, balance, disease-specific, and generic health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for women with osteoporosis and a history of vertebral fractures. Our results showed that exercises improved their mobility, balance, and HRQOL.
                The aim was to evaluate the effect of a 3-month course of circuit exercises plus a 3-h lesson on how to cope with osteoporosis on mobility, balance, and the HRQOL for postmenopausal women (60-84 years) with osteoporosis and a history of vertebral fracture. Our hypothesis was that a 3-month course would have a significantly positive effect on the women's mobility and balance as well as on their HRQOL.
                The participants (89) were randomized to an intervention group (IT) or a control group (CT) and assessed at baseline at 3 months and at 12 months with measurement of maximum walking speed (MWS), Timed Up and GO (TUG), Functional Reach (FR), the Quality of Life Questionnaire issued by the European Foundation for Osteoporosis ('QUALEFFO-41') and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20). The sample size was calculated with reference to walking speed (primary outcome), and the statistical approaches used were Student's t test or the chi-square test.
                At 3 months, better results were registered on the primary outcome, MWS as well as TUG, FR, sum score of GHQ-20, and "QUALEFFO-41: mental function" in the IT compared with the CT. At 12 months, those in the IT had a better result on the primary outcome, MWS as well as TUG, "QUALEFFO-41: total score" "QUALEFFO-41: mental function", "QUALEFFO-41: physical function", and "QULEFFO-41: pain" compared with CT.
                Circuit exercises will improve mobility and health-related quality of life of elderly women with osteoporosis and a history of vertebral fractures. This randomised, single-blind controlled pilot trial aimed to determine the effectiveness of a physiotherapy program, including exercise and manual therapy, in reducing impairments and improving physical function and health-related quality of life in people with a history of painful osteoporotic vertebral fracture.
                20 participants were randomly allocated to an intervention (n = 11) or control (n = 9) group. The intervention group attended individual sessions with an experienced clinician once a week for 10 weeks and performed daily home exercises with adherence monitored by a self-report diary. The control group received no treatment. Blinded assessment was conducted at baseline and 11 weeks. Questionnaires assessed self-reported changes in back pain, physical function, and health-related quality of life. Objective measures of thoracic kyphosis, back and shoulder muscle endurance (Timed Loaded Standing Test), and function (Timed Up and Go test) were also taken.
                Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant reductions in pain during movement (mean difference (95% CI) -1.8 (-3.5 to -0.1)) and at rest (-2.0 (-3.8 to -0.2)) and significantly greater improvements in Qualeffo physical function (-4.8 (-9.2 to -0.5)) and the Timed Loaded Standing test (46.7 (16.1 to 77.3) secs). For the perceived change in back pain over the 10 weeks, 9/11 (82%) participants in the intervention group rated their pain as 'much better' compared with only 1/9 (11%) participants in the control group.
                Despite the modest sample size, these results support the benefits of exercise and manual therapy in the clinical management of patients with osteoporotic vertebral fractures, but need to be confirmed in a larger sample.
                NCT00638768. One hundred and seventy-nine women aged 60-85 years (mean age 71.6 years, SD 5.3 years) were randomly recruited from the community to participate in a 12-month randomized controlled trial to determine whether a program of twice-weekly structured exercise has beneficial effects on three factors associated with osteoporotic fractures: quadriceps strength, postural sway and bone density. At initial testing, there were no significant differences in the strength, sway and bone density measures (assessed at the hip and lumbar spine) between the exerciser and control groups. The exercise classes included strengthening, coordination and balance exercises, and approximately 35 min of each class comprised weight-bearing exercise. The mean number of classes attended for the 68 exercisers who completed the program was 59.8 of the 82 classes (72.9%). At the completion of the trial, the intervention group showed significant improvements in quadriceps strength and sway but not bone mineral density when compared with the control group. Indices of fracture risk, indicated by (i) the sum of standard score results and (ii) the sum of quartile grades of the femoral neck bone density, sway and strength measures, decreased significantly in the exercisers at the end of the trial compared with the controls. In conclusion, the program of general aerobic exercise may have reduced overall fracture risk, even though it did not significantly increase bone density. Further long-term studies are required that include acceptable weight-loaded exercises to determine optimal programs for reducing fracture risk factors by improving bone density as well as strength and balance. The majority of patients after a hip fracture do not return to prefracture functional status. Depression has been shown to affect recovery. Although exercise can reduce impairments, access issues limit elderly people from participating in facility-based programs. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effects and feasibility of a home exercise program of moderate- or high-intensity exercise. A secondary purpose was to explore the relationship of depression and physical recovery.
                Thirty-three elderly people (24 women, 9 men; mean = 78.6 years of age, SD = 6.8, range = 64-89) who had completed a regimen of physical therapy following hip fracture participated in the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to a resistance training group, an aerobic training group, or a control group.
                Subjects were tested before and upon completion of the exercise trial. Isometric lower-extremity force, 6-minute-walk distance, free gait speed, mental status, and physical function were measured. Each exercise session was supervised by a physical therapist, and subjects received 20 visits over 12 weeks. The control group received biweekly mailings. The resistance training group performed 3 sets of 8 repetitions at the 8-repetition maximum intensity using a portable progressive resistance exercise machine. The aerobic training group performed activities that increased heart rate 65% to 75% of their age-predicted maximum for 20 continuous minutes.
                Resistance and aerobic training were performed without apparent adverse effects, and adherence was 98%. All groups improved in distance walked, force produced, gait speed, and physical function. Isometric force improved to a greater extent in the intervention groups than in the control group. Depressive symptoms interacted with treatment group in explaining the outcomes of 6-minute-walk distance and gait speed.
                High-intensity exercise performed in the home is feasible for people with hip fracture. Larger sample sizes may be necessary to determine whether the exercise regimen is effective in reducing impairments and improving function. Depression may play a role in the level of improvement attained.
No definitive conclusions can be made regarding the benefits of exercise for individuals with vertebral fracture. Although individual trials did report benefits for some pain, physical function and quality of life outcomes, the findings should be interpreted with caution given that findings were inconsistent and the quality of evidence was very low. The small number of trials and variability across trials limited our ability to pool outcomes or make conclusions. Evidence regarding the effects of exercise after vertebral fracture, particularly for men, is scarce. A high-quality randomized trial is needed to inform exercise prescription for individuals with vertebral fractures.