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

Launched by THE HONG KONG POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY · Jun 15, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying whether a special 12-week exercise program can help older adults who are frail and have ongoing muscle or joint pain. The program combines physical strength exercises with mental tasks to see if this "dual-task" training can improve their overall frailty—a condition that makes everyday activities harder and increases the risk of health problems.

People who might be eligible to participate are those aged 60 or older, living in Hong Kong, who are considered frail based on a simple questionnaire and have had muscle or joint pain rated as moderate or worse for at least three months. Participants will join supervised sessions for 12 weeks, either doing the dual-task training or a stretching exercise program for comparison. This is a new study, so it is not yet recruiting participants. The trial is designed to see if combining physical and mental exercises can make a meaningful difference for older adults struggling with frailty and chronic pain.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• 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.