Abstract
This study considers power rehabilitation, a new technique to restore decreased mental/physical activity levels resulting from aging or organic disorders, increase independence, and improve the quality of life. It promotes behavioral changes by reactivating the nerves and muscles of the whole body, which have become unused (inactive) due to aging or disease, using exclusive training machines that allow exercise at low intensity levels or with slightly increasing loads. Power rehabilitation is generally performed using six types of training machines, but it is not a program simply for muscle training. Although loads are gradually increased, intensity levels are kept low, and rhythmical and reciprocal movements are executed. The impact of power rehabilitation on the heart is lower than that of ‘bathing’, and it involves almost no risks associated with exercise. In Japan, a group to study power rehabilitation was organized in 2001. Currently, a total of 4,764 facilities, including day service centers and hospitals, are providing power rehabilitation services. The total numbers of those who have completed basic skill, instructor training, and advanced instructor training programs up to the present are 14,457, 405, and 190, respectively, indicating that power rehabilitation has been widely promoted in Japan. It is markedly contributing to improvements in the care-dependent elderly’s mental and physical conditions.
Presenters
Kazutoshi FurukawaProfessor, Faculty of Human Life Design, Toyo University, Tokyo, Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Power Rehabilitation, Behavioral Changes, Elderly
