The effect on lower limbs of wearing ankle weights in people under/over 70 years old: single comparison after intervention

Background: Since the emergence of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), safety management in gymnastics classrooms has been difficult. As a result, healthy older adults are more likely to voluntarily refrain from attending because of fear of contracting COVID-19, and thus engage in less exercise. In this context, it is important to develop methods for self-prevention of frailty that can be conducted safely and easily at home. We examined the effectiveness of providing ankle weights to older adults as a frailty prevention device. Methods All participants were 50–90 years old and were screened for falls using the Motor Fitness Scale (MFS). Participants were divided into two groups (≤ 70 and ≥ 71 years old) and analyzed. We rented ankle weights for 3 months to older adults in the community and evaluated changes in physical and motor function before and after wearing them. A total of 75 people who responded to the call for participants used ankle weights for 3 months, and underwent various measures of physical condition, cognitive condition, and performance (body composition, grip strength, standing on one leg with eyes open, 30-second chair stand test [CS-30], timed up-and-go test [TUG], walking speed, body sway measurement, and the Japanese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MOCA-J]) before and 3 months after wearing ankle weights. Results CS-30 performance improved in both younger and older participants. Conclusions CS-30 reflects lower limb/trunk muscle strength and can be used as an index of fall risk. Our results suggest that wearing ankle weights can be recommended as a fall-prevention measure. Trial registration: University hospital Medical Information Network ID 000038073) and registration date at April 14th 2020