For this randomised controlled trial, ninety participants (fifty women ad forty men aged 67-92 years old) were recruited from various nursing homes in Albania and Spain who, based on the medical documentation of dementia, had a probable diagnosis of AD. They were randomly assigned to one of the two following groups:
- Intervention group (45 participants, 17 men vs. 28 women): participants attended a 24-week GPR programme on a basis of three 40-min sessions per week (i.e. in total 72 sessions for the whole study). Three postures were standardised and lasted ten minutes while associated with diaphragmatic breathing and neck pumpage;
- Control group (45 participants, 23 men vs. 22 women): participants carried usual activities (such as a twenty minutes’ walk each day, aerobic exercises, occupational therapies and art therapies) and were followed up individually.
The main outcome measures were the cognitive evaluation (via the Mini Mental State Examination), quality of life (through the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease Scale), depression (with the Geriatric Depression Scale), neuropsychological symptoms (with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory), balance (Tinetti Scale) and the respiratory rate frequency (time calculation of respiratory rate for every participant).
All the participants were assessed at baseline and after 24 weeks.
The authors found that participants who followed the GPR programme showed significant improvements in the outcome measures assessed (cognition, mood, behavioural disorders, balance and quality of life), with the exception of the respiratory rate frequency which did not significantly differ between groups.
These results suggest that postural therapy is a useful tool in treating patients with AD.
> From: Todri et al., Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 48 (2019) 172-179 . All rights reserved to Karger AG. Click here for the online summary.
Expert opinion
From a research perspective, this study is follows up on a previous pilot randomised controlled trial and shows a high quality level according to the PEDro score (8/10).
The various improvements highlighted in this study are in line with a recent systematic review focusing on people with mild cognitive impairment and showing a significant improvement of the global cognitive functioning after a programme of body-mind exercises (slow physical movements, stretching, relaxation, breathing and concentration.
GPR is particularly interesting as it works on the basis of postures in extension while activating muscle groups in an integrated way and therefore facilitating flexibility and strength.
