ผลการออกกำลังกายเพื่อความยืดหยุ่นต่อความสามารถในการปฏิบัติกิจกรรมประจำวัน (Effect of Stretching Exercise to Promote Activity of Daily Living in Elders with Diabetes)

Abstract

Objective: To determine the effects of stretching exercise to blood glucoselevels and activity of daily living in elders with diabetes. Method: A sampleof 64 individuals was selected from a registry of diabetic patients at adiabetic clinic of a community hospital in Ayuddhaya province. The subjectswere randomized into experiment and control groups, 32 patients each.The experiment group attained the exercise training session as guided bythe stretching exercise handbook, and exercised independently at home for30 seconds for each given position for a total of 15 minutes, 3 times aweek for 12 months. The control group received usual care given by staffnurses of the diabetic clinic. They were trained in the stretching exercisesession at the end of the study. The instruments used were thedemographic questionnaire, activity of daily living index, the handbook ofstretching exercise, and a blood sugar flow chart of the diabetic clinic. Datawere analyzed by using descriptive statistics, paired t-test and independentt-test. Results: After 12-month participation in the stretching exercise, theexperiment group had a statistically significantly higher activities of dailyliving score (P = 0.012) and better blood glucose control (P = 0.013) thanthe control group. Conclusion: Stretching exercise in elders with diabetesresulted in better activity of daily living and glycemic control. It could beused to improve the physical functioning and glycemic control amongelders with diabetes.Keywords: stretching exercise, activity of daily living, elder, diabetes