Abstract: Objective To analyze the intervention effect of early progressive exercise training on self muscle strength and self-care ability in the elderly patients in intensive care unit(ICU). Methods A prospective study was conducted on 132 elderly patients in ICU of our hospital from March 2019 to March 2021. The patients were randomly divided into two groups with 66 cases in each group. Routine ICU nursing intervention was used in both groups, and early progressive exercise training intervention was used in the observation group at the same time. The extensor and flexor muscle strength, self-care ability, scores of Medical Research Council(MRC), Barthel index and the quality of life were compared between the two groups before and after intervention. Results After the intervention, the indexes of extensor and flexor muscle strength in the observation group were higher than those in the control group, with statistically significant difference (P< 0.05). The scores of self-care ability, MRC and Barthel index in the two groups were significantly increased after the intervention than those before the intervention, especially in the observation group(P<0.05). The body pain score was significantly decreased and the other quality of life scores were significantly increased in the two groups after the intervention, and the differences were statistically significant between the two groups(P<0.05). Conclusions Eearly progressive exercise training intervention for the elderly patients in ICU can effectively improve their muscle strength, self-care ability and quality of life.

Key words: intensive care unit, aged, early progressive exercise training, muscle strength, self-care ability