Effects of Suspension Training in Older Adults

Effects of Suspension Training Versus a Traditional One in the Elderly Population: a Randomized Clinical Trial

Traditionally, tools that use unstable surfaces have been used to increase the difficulty of exercises by stimulating the recruitment of a greater number of motor units. A new method is suspension training. It uses the weight of the body and the principles of moments of forces to improve the recruitment of motor units. The difficulty that stimulates this recruitment depends on the amount of instability caused by the suspension apparatus and the position of the body.

So this type of training in the elderly can be very interesting due to the ease of adaptation, since it can be used as a facilitating method or to increase the difficulty.

It seems that suspension training can have positive effects that will have a direct impact on the quality of life of the elderly, due to improvements in different aspects such as gaining strength and improving balance, consequently reducing the risk of falling. . It is a good alternative to gain strength and improve functional mobility and upper trunk strength in the elderly, to other exercises such as elastic bands, since they produce similar effects.

For all these reasons, the program tries to demonstrate that suspension training can be an effective tool to improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of falls in the elderly.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Old Age; Atrophy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Suspension training; Other: Strength training

Detailed Description

This research originates from the curiosity of wanting to prove that exercise in the elderly is more than recommended, specifically suspension training.

Traditionally, tools that use unstable surfaces have been used to increase the difficulty of exercises by stimulating the recruitment of a greater number of motor units. A new method is suspension training. It uses the weight of the body and the principles of moments of forces to improve the recruitment of motor units. The difficulty that stimulates this recruitment depends on the amount of instability caused by the suspension apparatus and the position of the body.

So this type of training in the elderly can be very interesting due to the ease of adaptation, since it can be used as a facilitating method or to increase the difficulty.

Additionally, an unstable resistance training situation stresses/taxes the neuromuscular system and can promote a greater gain in strength and increase the cross-sectional area. It can also increase motor unit recruitment and improve neuromuscular coordination without an increase in mechanical load when performing push-ups under unstable conditions. Because TRX exercises involve normal resistance, they can potentially improve strength by facilitating the use of large and fast-twitch muscle units, increasing muscle coordination and stimulating the musculoskeletal system, and increasing the number of muscle fibers. Suspension work increases the activation of most muscle groups involved in suspension training (push-ups, inverted row, prone bridge and hamstring curl) compared to traditional training.

Likewise, for the upper extremity it improves significantly as well as training with elastic bands. Improves the handgrip. Due to the constant use of suspension elements. For the lower extremity, a very high activation of the biecps femoris and semitendinosus (<90% MVIC), hamstrings, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and adductor lagus have been observed. In relation to balance, it has been observed that suspension training has more notable positive effects on it than in traditional training due to the constant adaptation and participation of the CORE in the different exercises. On the other hand, regarding the fear of falls, it has been observed that, in medium and high intensity programs, this fear decreases as the participants feel more confident. In this type of study, positive effects have also been shown on sleep quality through the PSQI, positive effects on stride after high intensity and positive changes in body composition: higher percentage of water at the cellular level, with which better value of PhA and better cellular health. Finally, another possible advantage is the ease of installation of the material and its affordable price, since traditional training often requires more expensive machines and tools.

It seems then that suspension training can have positive effects that will have a direct impact on the quality of life of the elderly, due to improvements in different aspects such as gaining strength and improving balance, consequently reducing the risk of suffering a drop. It is a good alternative to gain strength and improve functional mobility and upper trunk strength in the elderly, to other exercises such as elastic bands, since they produce similar effects.

For all these reasons, the program tries to demonstrate that suspension training can be an effective tool to improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of falls in the elderly.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 65
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Valencia, Spain, 46010
    • University of Valencia

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 60 years to 85 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Older adults between 60 and 85 years

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not wanting to sign the informed consent.
• Present pathology of the central nervous system that negatively affects balance, strength or compression; or cardiac pathologies in which strength exercise is contraindicated.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Experimental Group; This group will perform training using suspension elements.	Other: Suspension training; This group will perform training using suspension devices.
Active Comparator: Control Group; This group will perform training using weights and elastic bands.	Other: Strength training; This group will perform training using weights and elastic bands.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Hand Grip Test	Grip strength is usually measured using a hand-held dynamometer. The patient squeezes the dynamometer with all of their strength, typically three times with each hand. An average score is then calculated using the measurements from both hands.	Baseline (0 week)
Hand Grip Test	Grip strength is usually measured using a hand-held dynamometer. The patient squeezes the dynamometer with all of their strength, typically three times with each hand. An average score is then calculated using the measurements from both hands.	Post-treatment (7 week)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
5 Times Sit-to-Stand Test	Assesses functional lower extremity strength, transitional movements, balance, and fall risk. Equipment: Stopwatch; standard height chair with straight back (16 inches high); Therapist Instructions: Have the patient sit with their back against the back of the chair. he test provides a method to quantify functional lower extremity strength and/or identify movement strategies a patient uses to complete transitional movements.The time it takes to do it is timed.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)
Falls Efficacy Scale International	The Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) is a short, easy to administer tool that measures the level of concern about falling during 16 social and physical activities inside and outside the home whether or not the person actually does the activity.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)
One leg balance	Monopodal balance, count the time you can stand on one leg. The longer the time, the better the equilibrium state.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)
Functional Reach	Functional range that consists of measuring how much the participant can move or lean forward without losing stability. The greater the distance, the greater the stability.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)
Test Get-Up and Go	Dynamic or functional balance in which the time it takes to get up, travel a distance of 3m round trip and return to sit down is timed. The less time, the better functional status.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)
Walking speed test	The speed of the step is calculated by means of the chrono of what it takes to cover a distance of 4 meters. The higher the walking speed, the better the prognosis.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)
Quality of live (EQ-5D)	The EQ-5D-5L is a self-assessed, health related, quality of life questionnaire. The scale measures quality of life on a 5-component scale including mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression. The lower the score on the questions, the better the status will be. On the analog scale, the higher the score, the better the state of health.	Baseline (0 week), post-treatment (7 week)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Valencia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: David Hernández-Guillén, PT, PhD, University of Valencia

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 2, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 30, 2023
• Study Completion (Actual): December 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 29, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 29, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): January 9, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 12, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 11, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Balance; Prevention; Strength; Older adult; Suspension
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Atrophy
• Other Study ID Numbers: OA_SUSTRAIN

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