Effectiveness of Thai hermit exercise (ruesi datton) on mild cognitive impairment's patients

Abstract

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a recurrent brain disorder in memory. It is caused by the degeneration of the brain cells that is different from an individual’s age and develop to dementia. One way to help restore memory is to exercise. Thai hermit exercise is a wisdom in Thai exercise, which improve memory decline for the condition. The study design is randomized control trial. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Thai hermit exercise among patients with MCI. 84 participants were recruited and randomized into intervention (n=42) control(n=42). The intervention group practiced Thai hermit exercise for 10 weeks. Psychological effect on cognitive function was evaluated measuring cognitive function that determined by Verbal Fluency test, Trail Making test A-B and Digit Span. The control group received standard treatment. Both study groups were assessed by all tests at the baseline and at week6 week8 and week10 of study. At baseline there were no statistically significantly between two groups (p<0.05). After intervention there were statistically significant improvement of cognitive function (p<0.05). The result strongly suggested the capability of Thai hermit exercise to be an effective treatment for patients with MCI.