Dual-task Training for Frail Older Adults With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain (Pilot)

Effect of the Resistance-cognitive Dual-task Training on Frailty Status and Cognitive Function in Frail Community-dwelling Older Adults With Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate the feasibility and effect of a 10-week dual-task training program on frailty status in community-dwelling older adults with frailty and chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Main question: Is a 10-week dual-task training program, that combines resistance and cognitive training, feasible and accepted by community-dwelling older adults who have frailty and chronic musculoskeletal pain, and what is the effect of a 10-week dual-task training program on the frailty status in community-dwelling older adults who have frailty and chronic musculoskeletal pain?

Participants will attend supervised training sessions (either dual-task training [Intervention group] or resistance exercise [Control group]) for 10 weeks.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults, of either sex, aged 60 years or above,
• living in Hong Kong, being able to read and communicate verbally,
• screened frail using the Tilburg Frailty Indicator (TFI) (total score ≥5) with report of memory problems (question 9) (Gobbens et al., 2010),
• experiencing any CMP with a pain level higher or equal to 4 in the numerical pain rating scale over a consecutive 3-month period.

Exclusion Criteria:

Any individuals with either of the following will be excluded:

• absence of frailty,
• surgical procedure in the lower limbs or the vertebral column;
• wheelchair bound or inability to walk for five minutes;
• severe balance impairment;
• uncompensated cardiac or vascular condition;
• acute inflammatory musculoskeletal conditions;
• ongoing cancer; dementia;
• neurological diseases such as stroke, Parkinson's disease, cerebellar disease, myelopathy, and peripheral neuropathy;
• mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar, psychosis, borderline personality disorder;
• illiteracy.