Currently submitted to: JMIR Aging
Date Submitted: Jul 19, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 20, 2026 - Sep 14, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Muscle strength, functional performace and balance of older adults undergoing tele-exercise: randomized clinical trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Technology has emerged as a valuable tool for promoting a healthy lifestyle, encouraging physical activity and helping prevent or delay functional declines. Although remote interventions have been widely investigated, their effectiveness remains inconclusive, partly because of variability in intervention modalities.
Objective:
To evaluate muscle strength, functional performance, and balance of older adults before and after synchronous and asynchronous tele-exercise interventions.
Methods:
This was a randomized, controlled, parallel-group clinical trial with blinded assessments. The assessments included isokinetic dynamometry, handgrip strength, SPPB, and the unipedal stand test. Participants underwent synchronous or asynchronous interventions 3 times per week for 12 weeks.
Results:
A total of 49 older adults were included. Adherence was higher in the synchronous group than in the asynchronous group (71.75% vs 51.46%; p =0.003). A group-by-gender interaction was found for change in right handgrip strength (p = 0.031), with greater gains among men in the synchronous group than among men in the asynchronous group (p = 0.001). No significant between-group differences were observed for SPPB or TUG.
Conclusions:
Tele-exercise in synchronous mode has potential for applicability aiming at promoting health, improving muscle strength and physical activity levels, as well as preventing negative outcomes resulting from a sedentary lifestyle. Clinical Trial: The clinical trial was registered and approved by The Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) (trial registration: https://ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-75dvnfm.)
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