Vitality Acupunch Exercise Program for Sarcopenia Older Adults (VA)

Effects of the Vitality Acupunch Exercise Program on the ADL and Functional Fitness of Sarcopenia Older Adults

This project was aimed to test the effects of a six-month VA program on the activities of daily living (ADL) and functional fitness of institutional older adults with sarcopenia.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Activities of Daily Living; Functional Fitness
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Control; Other: Vitality acupunch (VA) exercise program

Detailed Description

A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted to test the effects of a six-month VA program on ADL and functional fitness (lung capacity, body flexibility, range of the joint's motion, and muscle endurance) of institutional older adults with sarcopenia. Using convenience sampling, 12 long-term care facilities with 114 older adults were recruited, and then cluster-randomized by the facility to a VA experimental or a control group. The experimental group received the VA program led by certified instructors 3 times per week and 40 minutes per session for six months; the control group continued with their regular daily activities. One pre-test and two post-tests, three months apart, were conducted.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 114
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 80708
    • Kaohsiung Medical University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years to 100 years (OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age ≥ 65 years old
• have been living in the facility for at least three months
• intact cognitive function with the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire (SPMSQ) score ≥ 8
• hand-grip strength < 28 kg for men and < 18 kg for women
• calf circumference < 34 cm for men and < 33 cm for women

Exclusion Criteria:

• have spinal cord injury
• have severe cardiovascular or pulmonary diseases
• have musculoskeletal diseases

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: SINGLE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
ACTIVE_COMPARATOR: Control; Participants in the control group continued with their daily activities as usual.	Other: Control; Participants maintained their daily activities.
EXPERIMENTAL: Vitality acupunch (VA); The VA program took 40 minutes to complete and included three phases: 1) activating qi and blood (5 movements, 10 minutes): warm-up exercises that allowed the body to accumulate heat and promote flexibility of the joints to loosen up the body, 2) punching meridians (14 movements, 20 minutes): both hands were used to exert a vibrating effect according to the rhythms that stimulate the 14 meridians in the entire body to improve aerobic endurance, and 3) relaxing body and mind (5 movements, 10 minutes): muscle relaxing exercises to rest the body and cease the qi. Participants in the experimental group received the VA program led by the instructors, who were trained and certified by the PI, 3 times per week and 40 minutes per session for 6 months.	Other: Vitality acupunch (VA) exercise program; The VA had three phases and took 40 minutes to complete.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Lung capacity	measured by the TruZoneTM Peak Flow Meter	6 months
Upper body flexibility	measured by the Back Scratch Test	6 months
Lower body flexibility	measured by the Chair Sit-and-Reach Test	6 months
Range of joint motion	measured by the goniometry	6 months
Arm muscle endurance	measured by the Arm Curl Test	6 months
Leg muscle endurance	measured by the Chair-to-Stand Test	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Activities of daily living (ADL)	measured by the Barthel Index. The score of "0-20" means totally dependent; "21-60" means heavily dependent; "61-90" means moderately dependent; "91-99" means mildly dependent; "100" indicates total independence in the ADL of a person.	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Kaohsiung Medical University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Tung HT, Chen KM, Huang KC, Hsu HF, Chou CP, Kuo CF. Effects of Vitality Acupunch exercise on functional fitness and activities of daily living among probable sarcopenic older adults in residential facilities. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2022 Mar;54(2):176-183. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12723. Epub 2021 Nov 8.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): August 7, 2020
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 6, 2021
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 6, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 5, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 5, 2020
• First Posted (ACTUAL): August 7, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): March 11, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 9, 2021
• Last Verified: March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Neuromuscular Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Muscular Atrophy; Atrophy; Sarcopenia
• Other Study ID Numbers: KMUHIRB-F(II)-20190045(1)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No