KAYAK PADDLING EXERCISE FOR GENERAL HEALTH IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY : STUDY 1. THE EFFECTS OF KAYAK PADDLING EXERCISE ON MUSCLE PERFORMANCE, COGNITIVE FUNCTION AND POSTURAL BALANCE IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY / STUDY 2. THE EFFECTS OF KAYAK PADDLING EXERCISE WITH VIRTUAL REALITY ON MUSCLE PERFORMANCE, COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AND POSTURAL BALANCE IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

STUDY 1.
The aim of this research was to determine whether sitting balance training using kayak paddling would improve muscle performance, cognitive function, and postural balance in community-dwelling elderly. Fifty-six individuals over 65 years old participated in this study. Subjects were randomly allocated to two groups; the kayak paddling group (KPG, n=29) and control group (CG, n=27), respectively. Individuals in the KPG performed sitting balance training via kayak paddling for 60 min two times a week for six weeks using five types of exercise protocols. Each exercise protocol was composed of four or five motions. The CG was instructed to exercise at home. The kayak paddling exercise was performed to a rhythmical music for motivation. The outcomes measured were muscle performance (arm curl test, handgrip strength), cognitive function (Montreal cognitive assessment, MoCA), and balance (timed up and go test, functional reach test, and Berg balance scale). The results of this study can be summarized as follows: all the variables showed significant improvement in the KPG (p<0.05). Overall, the parameters showed significant improvements in the KPG compared with the CG (p<0.05), except for the Berg balance scale scores. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that balance training using kayak paddling might be beneficial for community-dwelling elderly in terms of improving muscle performance, cognitive function, and postural balance.

STUDY 2.
The aim of the present study was to establish whether kayak paddling exercise with virtual reality would improve muscle performance, cognitive function, and postural balance in community-dwelling elderly. Fifty-seven subjects were enrolled in this study. Subjects were randomly allocated to two groups (virtual kayak training group: 29, control group: 28). Participants in the virtual kayak paddling group performed paddling exercise in a virtual environment for 60 min two times a week for 6 weeks, including warm-up and cool-down exercises. The kayak paddling exercise was performed while looking at a screen displaying real-world video recordings. Subjects in the control group were instructed to exercise at home. The variables measured before training included upper limbs muscle strength, cognitive function, and postural balance. The post-test was performed in the same manner as the pre-test. The two groups were well matched with respect to general characteristics at baseline. In this study, the virtual kayak paddling group performed significantly better than the control group. Thus, the overall outcomes such as muscle performance (arm curl test and handgrip strength test, p<0.001), cognitive function (Montreal cognitive assessment and general practitioner assessment of cognition, p<0.05), and postural balance (static and dynamic postural balance, p<0.05) were significantly improved in this group. Furthermore, significant differences were observed between the groups. The virtual kayak paddling group was better than the control group in terms of muscle performance (arm curl test and handgrip strength test, p<0.05), cognitive function (Montreal cognitive assessment, general practitioner assessment of cognition, p<0.05), and postural balance (static and dynamic, p<0.05). Our findings indicate that kayak paddling exercise with virtual reality utilizing real-world video recordings might be beneficial to for improving muscle performance, cognitive function, and postural balance in community-dwelling elderly.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• STUDY 1. THE EFFECTS OF KAYAK PADDLING EXERCISE ON MUSCLE PERFORMANCE, COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AND POSTURAL BALANCE IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i
• LIST OF TABLES vii
• LIST OF FIGURES ix
• LIST OF APPENDIXES x
• ABSTRACT xii
• I. INTRODUCTION 1
• A. Background 1
• B. Purposes of the Study 5
• C. Hypotheses 6
• D. The Definition of Terms 7
• II. LITERATURE REVIEWS 9
• A. Handgrip Strength for General Health 9
• B. Cognitive Function for Older Adults 11
• C. Balance for Older Adults 13
• III. METHODS 15
• A. Experimental Design 15
• B. Subjects and Experimental Procedures 16
• 1. Subjects 16
• 2. Experimental procedure 18
• C. Experimental Methods 20
• D. Assessment Tools and Data Collection 23
• E. Experimental Variables 27
• F. Data Analysis 28
• IV. RESULTS 29
• A. General Characteristics of Subjects 29
• B. Comparison of Muscle Performance between KPG and CG 31
• C. Comparison of Cognitive Function between KPG and CG 33
• D. Comparison of Postural Balance between KPG and CG 34
• V. DISCUSSION 36
• VI. CONCLUSION 41
• REFERENCES 42
• STUDY 2. THE EFFECTS OF KAYAK PADDLING EXERCISE WITH VIRTUAL REALITY ON MUSCLE PERFORMANCE, COGNITIVE FUNCTION, AND POSTURAL BALANCE IN COMMUNITY-DWELLING ELDERLY
• ABSTRACT 51
• I. INTRODUCTION 53
• A. Background 53
• B. Purposes of the Study 57
• C. Hypotheses 58
• D. The Definition of Terms 59
• II. LITERATURE REVIEWS 61
• A. Kayak Training for General Fitness 61
• B. Virtual Reality Training for Functional Activities 66
• C. The Relationship between Physical Fitness and Cognitive Function 71
• III. METHODS 76
• A. Experimental Design 76
• B. Subjects and Experimental Procedures 77
• 1. Subjects 77
• 2. Experimental procedure 79
• C. Experimental Methods 81
• D. Assessment Tools and Data Collection 84
• E. Experimental Variables 88
• F. Data Analysis 89
• IV. RESULTS 90
• A. General Characteristics of Subjects 90
• B. Comparison of Muscle Performance among the VKPG and CG 92
• C. Comparison of Cognitive Function among the VKPG and CG 94
• D. Comparison of Static Postural Balance among the VKPG and CG 96
• E. Comparison of Dynamic Postural Balance among the VKPG and CG 100
• V. DISCUSSION 102
• VI. CONCLUSION 107
• REFERENCES 108