Ms Mahboubeh Kavianipour, Dr Ali Hassani, Dr Elham Vosadi,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (11-2019)
Abstract
Purpose: Weakness in physical fitness is one of the factors that reduce the quality of life, illness, and injury of the elderly. Elderly people who do physical exercises reduce the occurrence of falls and the risk of fractures, suffer from depression and dementia, and improve physical fitness. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of eight weeks of Fall proof and combined training on the physical fitness of elderly women.
Methods: The subjects included 45 elderly women, who were randomly divided into three groups: control, Combination training, and Fall proof training. A pre-test and a post-test were conducted for all groups, which included the measurement of some physical fitness factors. Then, the experimental groups did an exercise program for eight weeks, three sessions per week, and each session lasted 60 minutes, and during this time, the control group did their daily activities.
Results: In this study, it was shown that a course of Combination and Fall proof training caused a significant increase in improving strength (P=0.001 and P=0.001), body composition (P=0.003 and P=0.001), static balance (P=0.001 and P=0.04), dynamic balance (P=0.001 and P=0.001), flexibility (P=0.01 and P=0.001) and cardiovascular endurance (P=0.001 and P=0.001) in the elderly and the effect of Combination training on muscle strength was more than Fall proof training (P=0.04). Also, in static balance and flexibility, Fall proof training was more effective than Combination training (P=0.08 and P=0.004).
Conclusions: Based on these results, it can be concluded that using both training protocols used in this study can be used to improve the level of physical fitness of the elderly. Based on these results, the two training protocols were not significantly superior to each other.
Miss Maedeh Mohseni Rad, Dr Elham Vosadi,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (11-2019)
Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: Balance and gait are considered critical factors for the health of older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of virtual reality (VR)-based training on balance and gait in older women.
Methods: The statistical population of this study consisted of all elderly women with an average age of 75.5±3.39 and an average weight of 72.08±9.46 kg in Shahrood city. 30 people were selected conveniently and purposefully based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups (15 people in the experimental group and 15 people in the control group). In the pre-test, the subjects' static balance was measured by the Sharpendramberg test, dynamic balance by the modified Star Balance test, functional balance by the Berg Functional Balance Scale test, and fall risk by the Dynamic Gait Index test. The subjects in the experimental group did virtual reality-based exercises for 8 weeks (3 sessions per week, each session lasting 30 to 45 minutes). Finally, all subjects were post-tested and the data obtained were used by paired t-tests for intragroup comparison and independent t-tests for comparing between-group changes at a significance level of p<0.05.
Results: The findings of the present study showed that 8 weeks of virtual reality-based training significantly increased static, dynamic, and functional balance (p=0.022), (p=0.0001), and (p=0.0001), respectively. Also, the dynamic gait index was significantly improved in this group (p=0.0001). The results of the independent t-test also showed that a significant difference was observed in the variables of static (p=0.001), dynamic (p=0.04), and functional (p=0.015) balance and dynamic gait index (p=0.0001) between the experimental and control groups.
Conclusions: The results of the present study showed that virtual reality-based exercises play a significant role in improving static and dynamic balance and reducing the risk of falls in the elderly. Therefore, it is suggested that this age group, by taking advantage of this effective training method, prevent balance disorders and subsequent adverse consequences that are inevitable with aging.
