PUSH: Project Urging Senior Health

Purpose:

To teach health-care providers working with seniors that exercise programs can easily be integrated into their services

The Program:

The PUSH began with 19 participants between the age of 60 and 90 years recruited from two senior centers in Arkansas. Prior to beginning the exercise program, seniors were tested using the senior fitness test outlined by Rikli and Jones (2001) to determine initial measures of lower-body strength, upper-body strength, body mass index, lower-body flexibility, upper body flexibility, agility and dynamic balance and aerobic endurance. Participants also completed the Mini-Mental State Examination which measures orientation, immediate recall, attention and calculation, recall, language, praxis, and language reading comprehension.

Three times each week for 40 minutes, the seniors participated in stretching and strengthening exercises using various forms of resistance such as exercise bands, dumbbells and an exercise ball. Some of the exercises used in PUSH are listed below. A detailed explanation of many of these exercises is available from the National Institute for Aging.

Upper Body Exercises

Straight-arm & overhead stretches
Biceps curl
Triceps Extension
Lateral, anterior & posterior deltoid raises
Chest Press
Forearm Curls
Internal rotator raises

Lower Body Exercises

Hamstring Flexion
Knee lifts
Abduction/Adduction
Ankle point/flex & circles
Glut (bottom) Squeezes
Chair Squats
Straight Leg Lifts

A repeat of the initial testing at the end of the 10-week program showed significant improvements in measures of dynamic balance, both upper and lower body strength, upper body flexibility and HDL (“good”) cholesterol.

The results of the PUSH program indicate that seniors who participate in simple exercises such as those used in this program can improve their overall heath and well-being. Improved strength and balance may also lead to a decreased risk of fall in the elderly (AGS et al, 2001).

At the completion of the PUSH exercise program, a training workshop was conducted for health-care providers who work with aging adults. Workshop participants were taught how to properly implement senior exercise programs that are both cost-effective and safe.

Resources:

Exercise Assessment

Rikli, Roberta, E. & Jones, C. Jessie (2001). Senior Fitness Test Manual. Human Kinetics:Champaign, IL. Pages 116-123, 143-144

Mini-Mental State Examination

Folstein , Marshal F.; Folstein , Susan E.; McHugh, Paul R. (1975). Mini-mental state: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12(3) , pp. 189-198.

Exercise Recommendations for Seniors

Exercise video and book available from the National Institute on Aging at www.niapublications.org

Falls Prevention

Schlicht, J. Camaione, D.N. & Owen, S.V. (2001). Effect of intense strength training on standing balance, walking speed, and sit-to-stand performance in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 56 (5), M281-M286.

American Geriatrics Society, British Geriatrics Society, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Panel on Falls Prevention. (2001). Guideline for the prevention of falls in older persons. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49 (5), 664-672. (Consumer Pamphlet available online at www.healthinaging.org)

PUSH was funded by a grant from the Community Care Foundation of Northwest Arkansas in partnership with the University of Arkansas Office for Studies on Aging and the Washington County Council on Aging.