Feasibility and experience of a digitalized resistancetraining program in older adults: A mixed method approach
2019 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 20 credits / 30 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
The world’s population is rapidly becoming older and many older adults suffer fromsarcopenia; low muscle mass and function, which may lead to falls, fractures and death. Although it is widely known that resistance training (RT) prevent loss of muscle mass and function, the prevalence of RT among older adults is low. The aim of this feasibility study was therefore to explore the effectiveness and describe user experience of a digital RT program in 31 men and women 71 years of age with low muscle mass. The outcome measures were changes in lean mass and physical function. Semi structured one-to-one interviews with eight participants were also made to get a greater view of participants experience of the digital training. The material was transcribed and analysed with qualitative content analysis. Significant improvements in lean body mass was observed (p=0.041), as well as chair stands and grip strength (p<0.05 for both) for the functional measures. Two themes emerged fromthe content analysis; “A feeling of a physical and mental change” and “Importance of being confirmed but at the same time be self-dependent“. The themes captured the participantsexperience and feasibility of the intervention, where a sense of how the body was changing and the importance of well-being were described. These findings indicate that this digital RTprogram was effective in increasing muscle mass and function. Combined with participants experiences, this intervention may lead to better compliance to RT. More research is needed to asses changes in a long-term perspective.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2019. , p. 34
Keywords [en]
muscle mass, ageing, functional strength, Ehealth, sarcopenia
National Category
Sport and Fitness Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-163193OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-163193DiVA, id: diva2:1350305
External cooperation
Livsmedicin, Region Västerbotten
Educational program
Master program in Sports Medicine
Supervisors
Examiners
Projects
Healthy Ageing Initiative (HAI)2019-09-162019-09-112019-09-16Bibliographically approved