Effects of Vitality Acupunch exercise on functional fitness and activities of daily living among probable sarcopenic older adults in residential facilities

PURPOSE: To test the effects of a Vitality Acupunch exercise program on the functional fitness and the ability to perform the activities of daily living (ADL) among older adults with probable sarcopenia in residential facilities. DESIGN: This was a cluster-randomized controlled trial. A total of 12 long-term care facilities randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups with 1:1 allocation ratio. Among them, 114 older adults with probable sarcopenia participated at baseline and were allocated to either the intervention or control group according to the facility where they resided in. Of these, 103 older adults completed the study. METHODS: The intervention group (n = 52) underwent the Vitality Acupunch exercise program three times a week, each lasting 40 min, for 6 months while the control group (n = 51) performed its routine daily activities. FINDINGS: The functional fitness and ADL of the intervention group significantly improved at each time point (all p < 0.001), while the control group showed a significant decreasing trend. Except the lower limb muscular endurance, the functional fitness and ADL of the intervention group significantly improved compared to the control group at T1, and the improvements were still significant at T2. CONCLUSIONS: Functional fitness and the ability to perform ADL in older adults with probable sarcopenia were significantly improved after receiving the Vitality Acupunch exercises. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: An exercise that integrates the meridian theory and exercise concepts effectively improves functional fitness in probable sarcopenic older adults. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04504786). The trial was first posted on August 7, 2020. This part of the data was collected from August 2020 to March 2021.