The proposal of an adapted pre-exercise screening tool for the recruitment of elderly in research with resistance training

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose was to investigate an adapted pre-exercise screening tool to evaluate musculoskeletal injury in elderly women before starting a resistance training (rT) program, and to verify whether the tool could detect subjects not eligible for rT research on the basis of the rT program injury rate. Methods. Overall, 74 subjects participated in an orthopaedic evaluation by a certified physical therapist. History was taken of injury, dysfunction and related musculoskeletal diseases, surgeries, fractures, and falls. A series of tests was applied to identify potential risks and injuries. Results. Owing to history of falls and fractures and poor mobility and performance in physical function tests, 14 patients were excluded. The most common deficits were: rotator cuff tendinopathy (n = 2), knee osteoarthritis (n = 3), both rotator cuff tendinopathy and knee osteoarthritis (n = 3), lumbar discopathy (n = 2), cervicalgia (n = 1), back pain sciatica (n = 1), rotator cuff injury (n = 1), wrist and knee pain (n = 1). The main joints affected were: knees (n = 7), shoulders (n = 6), lumbar spine (n = 5), thoracic spine (n = 1), and cervical spine (n = 2). Overall, 60 elderly women started the rT program, while 39 had an adherence of > 90%. Conclusions. The adapted tool was effective in recruiting subjects, who had a lower injury rate during rT. It helped to identify musculoskeletal dysfunction and improved safety and adherence outcomes in elderly women.