Benefit of Thai Hermit Exercise on MCI Patients’: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a recurrent brain disorder with the memory. It is caused by the degeneration of the brain cells that is different from an individual’s age and that develops to dementia. One way to help reduce stress is by exercising. Thai hermit exerciseis a wisdom in Thai exercise, which improves psychological status for this condition. Method: This study was evaluated for a period of 10 weeks in regards to the Thai hermit exercise on psychological status 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 was evaluated by measuring the psychological status which was futher determined by the psychological status indicator questionaire. The control group received standard treatment. Both study groups were assessed by the test at the baseline then at 6th week, 8th week and 10th week of the study. Results: At baseline there were no significantly difference statistically between the two groups (p<0.05). After the intervention there were statistically significantly improvement of psychological status (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results strongly suggested the capability of Thai hermit exercise to be a psychological effect for patients with MCI.