Activity and exercise are believed to be of benefit for reducing disability in older adults, yet the majority of older adults do not participate in regular exercise and is not active. This is especially true for older adults following hip fracture after they complete the usual rehabilitation program. This study is being done to compare two 16-week supervised multi-part physical therapy programs (interventions) initiated up to 26 weeks after hip fracture. The investigators want to test whether the interventions lead to improvements in a person's ability to walk on their own in the home and in the local community. With this knowledge the investigators hope to help a greater number of hip fracture patients enjoy a more complete recovery and improved overall health. ANCILLARY STUDY #1 - MECHANISTIC PATHWAYS TO COMMUNITY AMBULATION (CAP-MP) The goal of this ancillary study is to investigate several mechanisms thought to be related to recovery in ambulatory ability after hip fracture. Selected mechanistic pathways are being investigated by obtaining mechanistic measurements of the participants randomized in the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) clinical site of CAP. ANCILLARY STUDY #2 - DIET AND DIETARY PATTERNS IN OLDER ADULTS UNDERGOING HIP FRACTURE REHABILITATION The goal of this ancillary study is to analyze dietary patterns for the nutritional characterization of older adults recovering from a hip fracture. The identified dietary patterns, as well as motivators and barriers to intake, will be assessed for their impact on the rate of return to community ambulation in participants randomized at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) clinical site of CAP. ANCILLARY STUDY #3 - ROLE OF GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN STRENGTH AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY AFTER HIP FRACTURE The goal of this ancillary study is to assess the impact of glucose metabolism on strength and functional performance following resistance training in participants randomized at the UCHC clinical site of CAP. ANCILLARY STUDY #4 - MUSCLE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RECOVERY OF FUNCTION AFTER HIP FRACTURE The goal of this ancillary study is to understand some of the key muscle mechanisms associated with recovery in community ambulation following hip fracture in response to the two interventions for participants randomized at the Arcadia University (AU) clinical site of CAP.
MAIN STUDY Despite improvements in medical management, significant residual disability remains in older persons after a hip fracture. The goal of current clinical practice is independent, safe household ambulation two to three months after surgery. Hip fracture-acquired dependency in functional activities of daily living persists well beyond three months post-surgery. This residual disability indicates that current standard Medicare-reimbursed post-hip fracture rehabilitation (i.e., usual care) fails to return many patients to pre-fracture levels of function. In contrast to stroke and heart disease, other commonly occurring acute conditions in the older population, there are few intervention trials focused on decreasing disability following hip fracture. None of the trials for hip fracture has examined the effect of early post-fracture intervention on the ability to ambulate at a level required for independent function in the community (i.e., community ambulation). Thus, there is a paucity of evidence to justify extending medical management beyond usual care in persons following hip fracture to achieve community, rather than merely household, ambulation. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) including 210 older adults who have experienced a hip fracture will be carried out at three clinical sites with half of the subjects receiving a specific multi-component intervention (PUSH) and the other half receiving a non-specific multi-component intervention (PULSE). Randomization of 210 participants meeting eligibility criteria will take place after post-acute rehabilitation ends, approximately 6 months (26 weeks) after admission to the hospital for hip fracture. The primary endpoint will be measured using the Six-Minute Walk Test (SMWT) at the end of the 16-week intervention period. The goal is to enable older adults who have experienced a hip fracture to recover sufficiently to become community ambulators. Primary Aim The primary aim of the study is to determine if a specific multi-component 16-week intervention based on aerobic conditioning, specificity of training, and muscle overload (the PUSH intervention), initiated within 26 weeks of admission to the hospital for hip fracture, will be more successful in producing community ambulation at 16 weeks after randomization than a non-specific multi-component intervention of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), flexibility activities, and active range of motion exercises (AROM) (the PULSE intervention). Secondary Aims 1. To determine whether the proportion of community ambulators differs between the PUSH and PULSE interventions at 40 weeks post-randomization and whether the difference in proportions at 40 weeks changed from the difference in proportions at 16 weeks 2. To compare the PUSH and PULSE interventions at 16 weeks and 40 weeks post-randomization with respect to five secondary outcomes that are thought to be precursors to community ambulation (endurance, dynamic balance, walking speed, quadriceps strength, and lower extremity function) 3. To compare the PUSH and PULSE interventions at 16 weeks and 40 weeks post-randomization with respect to several tertiary outcomes (activities of daily living, quality of life, physical activity, lower extremity physical performance, balance confidence, increase of 50 meters or more in distance walked in six minutes, nutritional status, cognitive status, and depressive symptoms) 4. To compare the economic value of the PUSH and PULSE interventions by estimating the impact of the interventions on cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained over the follow-up period. In addition to study outcome measures, expected adverse events (AEs) will be assessed every four weeks during a telephone interview. Information about reportable adverse events (RAEs), which include serious adverse events (SAEs), unexpected AEs, or injury that occurs under supervision by study staff, will be collected throughout the study. Vitamin D, calcium, and multivitamin adherence will be monitored by pill counts every four weeks during the intervention period and by self-report during the 4-week telephone calls. Adherence with the PT interventions will also be monitored. For participants randomized prior to version 10.0 of the protocol, follow-up assessment visits occurred 16 weeks and 40 weeks from the date of randomization and telephone interviews were conducted every four weeks during the 40-week study period for a total of 10 telephone interviews. For participants consented under version 10.0 of the protocol, all follow-up will end at 16 weeks post-randomization. In version 11.0 of the protocol, we will eliminate several secondary and tertiary outcome measures. In the description of outcome measures, we identify the measures that will not be collected for participants consented under protocol version 11.0 or later. ANCILLARY STUDIES ANCILLARY STUDY #1 - MECHANISTIC PATHWAYS TO COMMUNITY AMBULATION (CAP-MP) - Dr. Jay Magaziner \[Ancillary Study #1 Start Date: April 12, 2014; Primary Completion Date: October 19, 2017; n=39\] The CAP-MP ancillary study is intended to supplement the information gained from the parent CAP study, to help investigators understand how older adults recover after injury. Participants enrolled in the CAP parent study at the Baltimore site are invited to participate in the CAP-MP ancillary study and undergo additional testing at the same time points as for the parent CAP study. The objective of the CAP-MP ancillary study is to examine mechanistic factors hypothesized to be on the pathway between two 16-week interventions post-hip fracture and recovery and the ability to ambulate independently in the community. The effect of the interventions on these factors 24 weeks after the intervention ends also will be evaluated. The outcomes for the CAP-MP ancillary study are secondary or tertiary to the main CAP study. Primary Aim. To determine if, at the end of the 16-week intervention, participants in the PUSH group, compared to the PULSE group, have: a) greater muscle volume and attenuation (i.e., reduced intra-muscular fat) of the thigh; b) greater lower extremity strength; c) greater bone mineral density and bone strength; d) more bone formation and less bone resorption; e) lower levels of circulating inflammatory cytokines; f) higher levels of the hormones insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, testosterone, and estradiol; g) greater aerobic capacity; h) greater improvement in gait and balance; and i) better cognition and fewer depressive symptoms. Secondary Aim 1. To determine the long-term (i.e., 24 weeks after intervention ends) effect of the intervention on the mechanistic factors detailed in the primary aim. Secondary Aim 2. To evaluate the relationships between mechanistic factors detailed in the primary aim above and community ambulatory ability at the end of the intervention and 24 weeks later in order to identify those mechanisms that are most responsible for the ability to ambulate in the community following delivery of the intervention. Tertiary Aim. To quantify the mediating effect of mechanistic factors detailed in the primary aim on the relationship between the intervention and ability to ambulate in the community at the end of the intervention (16 weeks post-randomization) and 24 weeks later. ANCILLARY STUDY #2 - DIET AND DIETARY PATTERNS IN OLDER ADULTS UNDERGOING HIP FRACTURE REHABILITATION - Dr. Anne Kenny \[n=11\] This ancillary study will analyze dietary patterns for the nutritional characterization of older adults recovering from a hip fracture. The identified dietary patterns, as well as motivators and barriers to intake, will be assessed for their impact on the rate of return to community ambulation in the CAP study. Hypothesis: Those who consume dietary patterns similar to a Mediterranean style diet will have less malnutrition with greater likelihood for a return to community ambulation. Aim 1. At baseline determine degree of Mediterranean style diet intake and dietary patterns in our sample of hip fracture patients to correlate with nutritional status assessed by the Mini Nutritional Assessment tool (MNA). Aim 2. Determine motivators and barriers to intake in the hip fracture rehabilitation population and associate with dietary patterns and nutritional status. Aim 3. Diets determined at baseline will be used to predict community ambulation and similar primary endpoints for CAP. ANCILLARY STUDY #3 - ROLE OF GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN STRENGTH AND FUNCTIONAL RECOVERY AFTER HIP FRACTURE - Dr. Anne Kenny \[n=21\] The goal of this ancillary study is to assess the impact of glucose metabolism on strength and functional performance following resistance training in the population. Data on rehabilitation capacity post-fracture in those with diabetes mellitus (DM) are limited and mixed. Studies focusing on rehabilitation potential in DM demonstrate either no impact or a decrease in functional recovery. Hypothesis: Community-dwelling ambulatory hip fracture survivors with impaired glucose metabolism (measured as homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance \[HOMA- IR\] or diagnosis of DM) will not recover lower extremity strength or function as well as those with normal glucose metabolism in response to resistance exercise compared to non-resistance training. Further, investigators propose that higher AGE (measured as pentosidine level and its receptor) will impair strength and functional improvement with resistance exercise. Those with IR and DM have lower IGF-1 and higher levels of IGF binding proteins (IGFBP1 and 3) further limiting the available IGF-1 for tissue use. Investigators hypothesize that the strength and functional improvement from resistance exercise will be mitigated by higher IGFBP in those with DM and IR compared to those with normal glucose metabolism. Aim 1. To compare change in strength and function between those with diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, or without either condition compared between two multi-component exercise interventions in which one includes resistance. Aim 2. To determine association between baseline AGE and IGF/IGFBP on strength and functional improvement and evaluate contribution of change in biomarkers to muscle/function response from resistance exercise. ANCILLARY STUDY #4 - MUSCLE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING RECOVERY OF FUNCTION AFTER HIP FRACTURE - Dr. Marty Eastlack \[Ancillary Study #4 Start Date: April 6, 2015; Primary Completion Date: December 13, 2017; n=22\] The purpose of this ancillary study is, therefore, to examine the effect of the two interventions on the precursors to participation in the community. Hypothesis: Those who participate in the PUSH intervention will have less impairment in body structure and function (muscle thickness and echo intensity), fewer limitations in activities (chair rate of rise and fast gait speed) and therefore better likelihood to return to participation (community ambulation). Aim 1: To determine if there is a difference between PUSH and PULSE with respect to change in muscle quality (muscle thickness and echo intensity), muscle power (chair rate of rise) and fast gait speed. Aim 2: To see if differences persist 40 weeks post-randomization. Aim 3: To see if changes in muscle quality predict faster gait speed, chair rate of rise and chair rise strategy (this is categorical) among all participants. Aim 4: To describe the quality of movement (chair rise strategy and capacity, standing symmetry, temporospatial aspects of gait) among all participants. Aim 5: To confirm that rate of rise in standing is a proxy for instrumented measure of lower extremity power.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
210
Participants receive 2000 IU vitamin D3, 600 mg calcium, and a multivitamin daily for the duration of the study. Nutritional counseling is also provided. Participants are screened at time of randomization to assess nutritional risk using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form and contacted by a registered dietician (RD) within 7 days of randomization. Those who score ≤7 (malnourished) and participants with baseline serum albumin 2.5-3.5 g/dl receive a visit from an RD with follow-up a week later. Participants who score 8-11 (at risk of malnutrition) and have serum albumin level \>3.5 g/dl receive a phone call from the RD and may receive an in-person visit if warranted. Those screening in the normal range (12-14) and have serum albumin level \>3.5 g/dl receive a phone call from the RD. Weight is monitored every 4 weeks. Those who lose 2% or more body weight receive a call from the RD. Those who lose 5% or more body weight between baseline and follow-up may be referred to an RD.
Strength components of the muscle performance intervention are performed using a portable progressive resistive exercise device (Shuttle® MiniPress, Contemporary Design Company, P.O. Box 5089, Glacier, Washington 98244). Muscle performance focuses on bilateral hip extensors, hip abductors, knee extensors, and plantar flexors. Balance and strength are addressed with additional exercises performed while standing. The endurance intervention begins with 2-3 minutes of continuous upper and lower extremity active range of motion (AROM) with the participant sitting in order to increase the participants' heart rate (HR) or exertion closer to the target zone. The participant is then asked to walk on level surfaces and/or up and down steps to keep the HR within the training zone for 20 minutes.
During the AROM exercises, participants work to increase flexibility and range of motion. Exercises include the neck, shoulders, arms, trunk, hips, knees and ankles. During all AROM exercises, the participant focuses on deep breathing techniques. The second part of the session uses transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on lower extremity muscle groups to decrease pain, thereby allowing greater ease of mobility. TENS uses low-level electrical current to stimulate superficial cutaneous nerve fibers through the skin. Flexible carbonized, disposable electrodes coated with a self-adhesive conductive polymer will be applied to the skin bilaterally near the motor points on muscle bellies (the gluteal complex, the quadriceps, and the gastrocnemius) for 7 minutes per muscle group.
University of Connecticut Health Center
Farmington, Connecticut, United States
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Dartmouth Medical School
Lebanon, New Hampshire, United States
Arcadia University
Glenside, Pennsylvania, United States
Ability to walk 300 meters or more in six minutes
The primary study outcome reflects the concept of a minimum distance a person needs to be able to walk to carry out usual activities in the community. This will be defined as achieving the threshold value of 300 meters or more on the Six-Minute Walk Test (SMWT). The SMWT is an assessment with excellent psychometric properties, and there is sound justification for a 300 m distance threshold on the SMWT (equivalent to walking at 0.8 m/s) to serve as an indicator for community ambulatory ability.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization
Ability to walk 300 meters or more in six minutes
Performance of the SMWT (described above) will be used to determine whether the proportion of community ambulators differs between the PUSH and PULSE interventions at 40 weeks post-randomization and whether the difference in proportions at 40 weeks changed from the difference in proportions at 16 weeks.
Time frame: 40 weeks post-randomization
Endurance
To assess endurance, the SMWT (described above) will be used to obtain a continuous measure of total distance walked in six minutes. The SMWT is highly correlated with workloads, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and dyspnea responses when compared to bicycle ergometry and treadmill exercise tests in older persons. It has been performed by elderly, frail and severely compromised participants who cannot perform standard maximal treadmill or cycle ergometry exercise tests.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization and 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
Balance
We will use an enhanced balance measure that includes the balance subscale of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and two additional single leg stands (eyes open and eyes closed), as used in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS). For the test of standing balance, participants are asked to maintain balance in three positions, characterized by a progressive narrowing of the base support (side-by-side, semi-tandem, and tandem). For each of the three positions, participants are timed to a maximum of 10 seconds. Participants are then asked to stand on one leg (on the side of the fracture) with eyes open and again with eyes closed. Each of the single leg stands are held for up to 30 seconds. The number of seconds is then summed across the 5 items to obtain the measure of balance. These tests are hierarchical such that when a participant fails an item, the harder ones are not administered and receive a score of 0.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization and 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
Quadriceps muscle strength
Isometric force for bilateral knee extensors will be measured with a portable, hand-held dynamometer (Microfet2 Manual Muscle Tester). Participants will be seated on the strength testing chair to increase stabilization, with hip flexion 90° and knee flexed to 70°, stabilization straps on the pelvis and thigh, and resistance applied just proximal to the ankle on the anterior surface of the leg. Participants will be asked to push as hard and as fast as possible for five seconds. Three maximal effort trials, with a one-minute rest between trials, will be performed. The reported test-retest reliability with hand-held dynamometry is excellent (r\>.90) if tested in one session and in subjects with muscle weakness (intraclass correlation coefficient ≥ .90). The peak force will be recorded for each of the three trials and the highest value will be used. This measure will not be collected for participants consented under protocol version 11.0 or later.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization and 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
Lower extremity function
A modified version of the Physical Performance Test (mPPT) will be used to measure lower extremity function at baseline and follow-up. The modification, used by Binder et al., substitutes a chair-rise task and a balance task for writing and eating tasks, in order to emphasize lower extremity function. The modified PPT includes nine standardized tasks that will be timed (e.g., picking up a penny from the floor, standing up five times from a 16-inch chair). The tasks are performed twice and the times from the two trials are averaged. The score for each item ranges from 0 to 4, with 36 representing a perfect score. Test-retest reliability for the modified PPT score is 0.96. Because there is some overlap between the mPPT and SPPB items, we have integrated the two scales so that participant burden is minimized but it is still possible to obtain scores on each of the scales.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization and 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
Fast walking speed
Within the mPPT, participants are asked to walk a distance of 50 feet walking quickly but safely. The time required to walk 50 ft will be the measure of fast walking speed.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization and 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
Cost effectiveness: health care utilization
The economic value of the interventions will be determined by assessing the impact on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), cost, and cost per QALY gained over the 16 weeks following randomization. The cost-effectiveness analyses will address both the within trial comparison of the study interventions and a model-based comparison of the study interventions and usual care. This measure will not be collected for participants consented under protocol version 11.0 or later.
Time frame: Every four weeks, up to 16 weeks post-randomization and up to 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB)
The SPPB evaluates lower extremity performance in older persons based on timed short distance walk, repeated chair stands, and a set of balance tests. Each of the tasks is assigned a score ranging from 0 to 4, with 4 indicating the highest level of performance and 0 an inability to complete the test. The test takes about 10-15 minutes to administer and was designed to be administered by a lay interviewer in a setting with limited space. The battery has an excellent safety record. It has been administered to well over 10,000 persons in various studies and no serious injuries are known to have occurred. The SPPB components and total score are derived from normative values obtained from a population-based study.
Time frame: 16 weeks post-randomization and 40 weeks post-randomization for a subset of participants
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