Exercise slows decline in Alzheimer’s patients
I can attest, exercise makes a difference. My mother now has the tendency to sit around all day. On those days when I can get her to go to Gold’s Gym with me she is a completely different person. The look on her face, from dull to smiling, is more than enough to tell me that exercise works to her benefit.
The article on the next page talks about the effects of exercising on Alzheimer’s patients.
“Nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease who participate in a moderate exercise program have a significantly slower deterioration than those who receive routine medical care, researchers have shown.”
Exercise slows decline in Alzheimer’s patients
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Nursing home residents with Alzheimer’s disease who participate in a moderate exercise program have a significantly slower deterioration than those who receive routine medical care, researchers have shown.
Dr. Yves Rolland, of Hospital La Grave-Casselardit in Toulouse, France, and colleagues examined the effects of a program of exercise for one hour twice weekly on activities of daily living, physical performance, nutritional status, behavioral disturbance and depression among 134 Alzheimer’s disease patients in nursing homes.
The patients were 83 years old on average. They were assigned to the exercise program, which focused on walking, strength, balance and flexibility training, or to routine medical care for 12 months.
As reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 110 participants completed the study. Among the 56 subjects in the exercise group who completed the study, the rate of adherence to the program was about 33 percent on average.
At the end of the 12 months, the average activities-of-daily-living score was significantly more improved in the exercise group than in the routine medical care group, Rolland’s team reports.
In addition, average walking speed improved significantly more in the exercise group than in the routine medical care group at 6 months and 12 months.
However, the exercise program had no apparent effect on behavioral disturbance, depression or nutritional assessment scores.
ORIGINAL SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, February 2007.
March 15, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Hello Robert,
I’m one of the writers for Gilbert Guide (the foremost resource for everything senior care) and I’ve done quite a bit of research on exercise to assist with memory preservation. I have long touted the benefits of yoga for both the mind and body—not just for seniors but for people in general. I recently wrote a blog about yoga for seniors that you might find interesting. Here’s an excerpt from the post:
“Yoga improves balance, strength, energy and mental clarity through deep, sustained breathing and a series of gentle standing and seated postures. Practitioners focus on proper spinal alignment, increasing blood circulation, calming the nervous system and helping prevent ailments like arthritis, rheumatism and incontinence.”
You can read the rest of the post here:
http://www.gilbertguide.com/blog/2006/11/21/yoga-for-seniors-stretching-your-memory/
Thanks for posting this article! Nothing compares to good old fashioned exercise when it comes to taking care of the body.
Lori
Gilbert Guide