A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ISOLATED ECCENTRIC TRAINING VS TRADITIONAL STRENGTHENING EXERCISE FOR CALF MUSCLES ON FUNCTIONAL REACH AND SIT TO STAND AMONG ELDERLY POPULATION

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Aging is characterized by a gradual decline in muscle strength, balance, and functional mobility, resulting in dependency in activities of daily living and a high risk of falls in elderly individuals. Calf muscles are essential for balance, forward propulsion, and postural stability in functional activities such as “sit to stand” and “reaching”. Although traditional strengthening exercise are commonly prescribed, the specific effect of isolated eccentric calf muscle training remains insufficiently explored AIM:  To compare and analyse the effectiveness of isolated eccentric calf muscle training and traditional strengthening exercises on functional reach and sit-to-stand ability in elderly populations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The experimental study was conducted at the Outpatient Department in Chennai. A total of 52 elderly subjects above 60 years of age were selected and they were split into two groups,each group with 26 participants. One group was subjected to isolated eccentric calf muscle training, and another group was subjected to traditional strengthening exercises. Both interventions were carried out for a period of four weeks. The 30-Second Chair Stand Test (30-sec CST) and the Functional Reach Test (FRT) were used both before and after the therapies to evaluate the functional performance of the older subjects. Mann-Whitney and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Improvement was observed in both groups after the intervention. Significant improvements were observed in the experimental group in terms of 30-sec CST (Z = −4.685, p < 0.001) and FRT (Z = −4.542, p < 0.001). Similarly, in the control group, a significant improvement was observed in terms of 30-sec CST (Z = −2.646, p = 0.008), whereas no significant improvement was observed in FRT (p = 1.000). Between-group analysis showed a statistically significant difference in favour of the experimental group in terms of both 30-sec CST (U = 71.500, Z = −4.959, p < 0.001) and FRT (U = 163.000, Z = −3.215, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results showed that isolated eccentric training was more effective than traditional strengthening exercises in improving functional performance, balance, sit-to-stand and reaching ability in the elderly. Hence, isolated eccentric training can be regarded as an effective and beneficial intervention in physiotherapy to enhance functional independence in the elderly.