- 著者
- Mitsunobu Watanabe Junji Maeda
- 出版者
- The Japanese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine
- 雑誌
- Progress in Rehabilitation Medicine (ISSN:24321354)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- vol.7, pp.20220063, 2022 (Released:2022-12-14)
- 参考文献数
- 37
- 被引用文献数
- 1
Objectives: Hip fracture in the elderly involves two cases of invasive damage to the body within a short period of time: the fracture itself and subsequent surgery. This situation affects physical strength and presents a major challenge during convalescent rehabilitation. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of hochuekkito, a traditional Japanese herbal medicine, on physical activity, appetite, motivation, and quality of life (QOL) during inpatient rehabilitation treatment after hip surgery.Methods: Thirty-eight patients with hip fracture who underwent postoperative convalescent rehabilitation were randomly assigned to either the hochuekkito group (n=20, daily hochuekkito administration from day 3 after surgery until discharge from hospital) or the control group (n=18). Physical activity was measured with a small tri-axial accelerometer worn by the patients; appetite was evaluated based on daily dietary calorie consumption; motivation was measured using the vitality index score; and QOL was measured using the European QOL 5-Dimensions 5-Levels questionnaire and its associated EQ-visual analog scale (EQ-VAS). All patients were assessed at day 3 (baseline) and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 weeks after surgery and at the time of discharge from hospital.Results: The results for the hochuekkito group were significantly higher than the control group for walking exercise at 10 weeks, vigorous activity time at 8 weeks, dietary calorie consumption at 10 weeks and at discharge, and EQ-VAS score at 6 weeks.Conclusions: In elderly hip fracture patients, a course of hochuekkito administration starting soon after surgery significantly improved QOL, physical activity, and appetite at 6 weeks after surgery.