Effect of Exercise Guidance for Day Care Service Users Refraining from Going Out due to COVID-19 Provided by a Physical Therapist: A Retrospective Study

[Purpose] To clarify the effect of exercise guidance for day care service users refraining from going out (self-restraint) due to infection with the new coronavirus (COVID-19), provided by a physical therapist. [Participants and Methods] The participants were 21 day care/rehabilitation services users. The physical therapist, who had been treating these users with exercises as regular physical therapy daily, sent self-training guidance documents to them, so that they could perform the same exercises in their homes during the self-restraint period. The effect of this approach was evaluated using a questionnaire on self-training, the Timed Up & Go Test (TUG), and Hasegawa Dementia Scale-Revised (HDS-R) through comparison between before and after self-restraint. [Results] Twelve and 9 were classified into self-training and non-self-training groups, respectively. After self-restraint, there were no marked changes in the self-training group’s TUG scores, whereas those of the non-self-training group significantly worsened (the time needed significantly increased). [Conclusion] The results suggest that self-restraint due to COVID-19 decreases mobility, and exercise guidance provided by physical therapists prevents physical dysfunction.