To investigate the impact of high-intensity walking training (HIWT) on prefrail and frail older adults, five assisted living residents underwent a supervised 12-session intervention. The intervention consisted of 30 min of HIWT at 70–80% of heart rate reserve or ratings of 15 to 17 (hard to very hard) on the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale. Training included walking at fast speeds, multi-directions, stairs, and outdoor surfaces with and without an assistive device. Training significantly reduced frailty using the SHARE-FI (p = .008), increased fast gait speed (p = .01), improved 6-min walk test distance (p = .03), and enhanced Berg Balance Scale scores (p = .03). There were no adverse events and all participants reached target training intensity in all 12 sessions. Participants viewed the walking intervention as highly satisfactory (9.6/10 on a Likert scale) and 100% recommended that the assisted living facility should offer HIWT as part of routine programming.
Feasibility and Impact of High-Intensity Walking Training in Frail Older Adults
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Danilovich is with the Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL. Conroy is with the Department of Kinesiology and Human Development & Family Studies, College of Health and Human Development, Penn State University, State College, PA. Hornby is with Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL; and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.
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