The Effectiveness of Lower Extremity Strength Training

Plain-language summary

The increase in chronic schizophrenia patients with sarcopenia is currently an important healthcare issue in Taiwan and requires enhanced prevention and progress. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to understand the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with chronic schizophrenia and to explore the effect of lower limb strength training on the physical functional performance of patients with chronic schizophrenia and sarcopenia. This study adopted a quasi-experimental design method, and the research process was divided into two stages. In the first stage, the SARC-CalF questionnaire was used to initially screen suspected chronic schizophrenia patients in a psychiatric hospital in central Taiwan. For sarcopenia cases, the skeletal muscle mass index (Skeletal Muscle Mass index) of suspected sarcopenia cases is further compared with the body composition analyzer (Inboby) to confirm the diagnosis of sarcopenia. Statistical analysis of the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with chronic schizophrenia. In the second phase of the study, 4 chronic disease areas (two chronic disease areas for men and women) were randomly divided into experimental groups and control groups. The experimental group received a 16-week lower limb muscle strength training program, while the control group received routine care. The two groups conducted one pre-test and two post-tests, and the measurement content included physical function performance (Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), sarcopenia quality of life (SarQoL), and fall incidence). It is expected that the development of a set of non-pharmacological care measures will help patients in chronic psychiatric wards to become independent and slow down the progression of sarcopenia.

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