Purpose: The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of the long-term care prevention project
and develop an effective program.
Subjects: A total of 81 elderly people (age, 79 ± 5.1 years; height, 149.2 ± 9.2 cm; weight, 54.2 ± 11.4
kg).
Methods: Grip, knee extension muscular strength, 10 m walking speed, and Timed Up and Go time
were measured for evaluation of motor functions, and the “Locomo 25”, a 25-question risk assessment
questionnaire, was used as the judgment criterion for evaluation of daily life activities, with
measurements being taken at the beginning of the project and after three months.
Results: In the motor functions evaluation, significant differences were observed in 10 m walking
speed, Timed Up and Go time, and knee extension strength. In the daily life activities evaluation,
scores for pain, rising movement, standing movement, indoor walking, outdoor walking, and fear of
falling were significantly reduced. In addition, a significant correlation was also observed between
motor functions and daily life activities.
Conclusion: The result of this study indicated that the long-term care prevention project is effective in
maintaining or improving muscular strength and mitigating pain in the elderly and that it is an effective
program for maintaining daily life activities. We were also able to show that it would be effective to
develop programs with a low exercise intensity that can be performed on a continuing by the elderly.
Key words: Long-term care prevention project, Motor functions, Daily life activities