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Lis Puggaard

Publications and source records attributed to Lis Puggaard.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Nordic walking and chronic low back pain: design of a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Low Back Pain is a major public health problem all over the western world. Active approaches including exercise in the treatment of low back pain results in better outcomes for patients, but it is not known exactly which types of back exercises are most beneficial or whether general physical activity provide similar benefits. Nordic Walking is a popular and fast growing type of exercise in Northern Europe. Initial studies have demonstrated that persons performing Nordic Walking are able to exercise longer and harder compared to normal walking thereby increasing their cardiovascular metabolism. Until now no studies have been performed to investigate whether Nordic Walking has beneficial effects in relation to low back pain. The primary aim of this study is to investigate whether supervised Nordic Walking can reduce pain and improve function in a population of chronic low back pain patients when compared to unsupervised Nordic Walking and advice to stay active. In addition we investigate whether there is an increase in the cardiovascular metabolism in persons performing supervised Nordic Walking compared to persons who are advised to stay active. Finally, we investigate whether there is a difference in compliance between persons receiving supervised Nordic Walking and persons doing unsupervised Nordic Walking. METHODS: One hundred and fifty patients with low back pain for at least eight weeks and referred to a specialized secondary sector outpatient back pain clinic are included in the study. After completion of the standard back centre treatment patients are randomized into one of three groups: A) Nordic Walking twice a week for eight weeks under supervision of a specially trained instructor; B) Unsupervised Nordic Walking for eight weeks after one training session with an instructor; C) A one hour motivational talk including advice to stay active. Outcome measures are pain, function, overall health, cardiovascular ability and activity level. RESULTS: No results available at this point. DISCUSSION: This study will investigate the effect of Nordic Walking on pain and function in a population of people with chronic LBP.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2006

Exercise intervention of 65+-year-old men and women: functional ability and health care costs.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Physical activity has been demonstrated to prevent physical impairment in elderly people. Physical impairment often leads to dependency and the need for help or health services. Therefore, participation in physical activity programs (PAP) may reduce health care costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate: i) the effect of a PAP on functional ability and the use of health care services; ii) the possible association between level of functional ability and public health care costs. METHODS: 185 participants aged 65+ (mean: 74.7 yrs) were recruited. The intervention consisted of a group-based multicomponent PAP, 1.5 hours, once a week, for 5 months. Functional ability was assessed by questionnaire and physical performance tests before and after the PAP. Economic analyses were based on data collected retrospectively from public registers and questionnaires describing the use of health care services (e.g., public home care, GPs, hospitals). RESULTS: Participants revealed a high level of functional ability. Only a few significant differences between pre- and posttests were observed. Many participants incurred no or very low public health care costs. The probability of using health care services decreased with better functional ability scores and lower age. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in this study maintained their level of functional ability in the intervention period with unaltered use of health care resources.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Exercise on prescription in general practice: a systematic review.

'Exercise on Prescription' (EoP) is used for initiating physical activity among sedentary patients with signs of lifestyle diseases. EoP is personalized secondary prevention in primary healthcare. This review addresses EoP using a Health Technology Assessment perspective and aims to answer the following questions: (1) Does EoP increase physical activity level or physical fitness, and is more intensive EoP more effective than less intensive? (2) Is EoP acceptable and feasible in general practice? (3) Is EoP acceptable to and feasible for sedentary patients? (4) Is EoP cost-effective? EoP studies were searched using Medline thesaurus topic, Medline WinSPIRS, reference lists of recent reviews, and NLM Gateway Locator plus. A total of 22 studies were included in the review. Most studies reported moderate improvements in physical activity or physical fitness for 6-12 months. Among patients receiving EoP 10% more had improved physical activity level compared with controls and mean aerobic fitness was improved by 5-10% among EoP patients compared with controls. Little evidence existed in support of the hypothesis that more intensive EoP is more effective. EoP was acceptable and feasible to GPs and patients volunteering for EoP. However, little is known about non-completers, patients declining EoP, and GPs not highly motivated for using EoP. Only one study addressed health economic issues. It found EoP cost-effective, but comparisons with other interventions have not been performed. Even though most studies in this review presented favourable results for EoP there is a lack of evidence in several fields. In particular we lack high-quality studies evaluating EoP schemes that are sustainable in everyday use in general practice.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed2003

ACE genotype and physical training effects: a randomized study among elderly Danes.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The level of physical functioning (PF) late in life has, in recent years, been shown to be influenced by genetic factors. One of the most extensively studied genetic variants associated with PF and trainability is insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the gene encoding Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE). However, ACE studies have mainly been conducted among younger persons in excellent physical shape. In this study, we examine whether the level of PF, trainability, or rate-of-change are associated with the ACE genotype among the elderly. METHODS: We used data from 4 randomized training studies of elderly Danes (N = 203). The measures of PF were self-report, maximal oxygen uptake, muscle strength, walking speed, and body composition. RESULTS: Overall, a favorable change in the measures of PF was observed in training groups compared with control groups. However, within groups, neither pre- or post-training/control period levels of PF nor differences in pre- and post-levels were associated with the ACE genotype. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our randomized studies, we could not detect any association between the ACE genotype and the level of PF or change, regardless of whether response to physical training or spontaneous changes was studied.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

[Physical training as treatment of reduced functional ability in frail 75+ year-olds living at home. A randomized intervention study in general practice with technological assessment elements].

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to establish the value of physical training as a treatment of reduced physical ability in frail, elderly patients living at home. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 46 community-dwelling frail elderly patients (> 74 years) participated in a randomised, controlled intervention study. The intervention group was transported to training, whilst the control group was not activated. All had their physical functional ability determined using SF-36, Berg's Balance Scale, 10 m walking test and muscle strength test. RESULTS: The intervention group had a significant improvement in functional ability measured by means of Berg's Balance Scale, walking test, muscle strength test and SF-36 (p < 0.01) compared with the control group. The average cost per patient was estimated at 121 DKK per training session, equivalent to 1452 DKK for a 12-week training period. DISCUSSION: The establishing of a "multi-component-training" as a treatment offer, to which general practitioners could refer their patients, would involve some costs, but savings due to reduced nursing care can be expected.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Age-related decrease in energy expenditure at rest parallels reductions in mass of internal organs.

This study explores to what extent the mass of internal organs may impact the age-related decrease in energy expenditure at rest (EErest). The relationship between direct measurements of EErest in elderly women and predicted EErest based on equations deriving from the metabolic activity in tissue from younger women were also elucidated. Body composition of elderly women was measured by an impedance method. EErest was measured by the Douglas bag method after an overnight fast. These data were compared with predicted values of EErest based on equations derived from studies in younger women. The mass of internal organs was obtained from autopsy material. Young women (mean age 31.7 years, range 14-60, n = 104) and elderly women of 65 years (n = 22), 75 years (n = 26), and 85 years (n = 31) participated in this study. Autopsy data were obtained from women (n = 238) from the same birth cohorts as the elderly women who died at ages 42-87 years. EErest showed a progressive age-related decline, which appeared to parallel a similar reduction in the mass of internal organs derived from autopsy material of women who died at the same ages. In contrast, FFM was identical in the group of 65 and 75-year-old women, but was lower in the 85-year-old women. Predicted and measured EErest revealed a strong correlation in elderly women. Modest reductions in the mass of internal organs with a high metabolic rate appear to contribute markedly to the decline in EErest observed in aging. Further, it is also possible to predict EErest from the body composition of elderly women using equations developed from younger women.

Adult↗