Effects of multicomponent exercise on muscle strength and muscle endurance

Key points

1. 01A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials in frail older adults
2. 02Examined three outcomes: muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance
3. 03Multicomponent exercise combines several types of training rather than a single modality
4. 04Pooled findings favoured the exercise groups over control groups across the measured outcomes
5. 05Included trials came from several countries, including Sweden, Germany and Spain

How it was conducted

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Population

Frail older adults

Intervention

Multicomponent exercise programmes

Comparator

Control or usual care groups

Outcomes

Muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance

Search and selection

2117 records identified, 1485 after duplicates removed, 56 full texts assessed, 10 studies included

What they found

• 2117 records were identified through database searching and 1485 remained after duplicates were removed
• 56 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 10 randomised controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis
• Pooled analyses reported mean differences and standardised mean differences favouring multicomponent exercise for muscle strength, muscle endurance and balance

Limitations

• The number of included trials was small, with only 10 studies in the meta-analysis
• Heterogeneity across trials in exercise type, frequency and duration limits how precisely the pooled effects apply to any one programme
• Only studies published in English were eligible, which may introduce selection bias
• Frailty definitions and outcome measures differed between the included trials

Why it matters

For patients

Frail older adults may gain strength, endurance and better balance from a structured exercise programme that combines several types of training.

For clinicians

Clinicians can recommend multicomponent exercise to frail older patients to target strength, endurance and balance, while tailoring the specific programme to the individual.

For readers

The evidence comes from a pooled analysis of randomised trials, which is a relatively strong design, but the small number of studies means the precise magnitude of benefit remains uncertain.