Falls and physical fitness of elderly people in the Senior Fitness Test evaluation
Journal Title: Rehabilitacja Medyczna - Year 2014, Vol 18, Issue 1
Abstract
Introduction: Falls of the elderly are a challenge because they contribute to disability, decreased fitness, and lower quality of life. a low level of physical fitness is one of the factors that can increase the risk of falls.Objective: The aim of this study was to assess physical fitness using the Senior Fitness Test (SFT) and to determine the relationship between the incidence of falls and physical fitness of elderly people living in private care homes. An additional purpose was to assess whether the level of individuals’ physical fitness was related to their sex.Material and methods: a total of 71 patients participated in the study: 41 women with an average age of 82.9 ± 5.49 years and 30 men with the average age of 81.8 ± 6.80 years. On the basis of surveys and medical records, the participants were divided into two groups depending on whether they had fallen (group A) or had not fallen (group B) during the 12 months preceding the survey. The Senior Fitness Test was used to assess the participants’ physical fitness.Results: People with a history of falls obtained worse scores in tests assessing individual components of physical fitness. In the group with a history of falls, men were characterised as having better aerobic endurance than women, while women demonstrated better upper body flexibility. In other tests, scores for both sexes were similar. The study showed a negative correlation between the measurements in tests assessing the upper and lower limb muscle strength, upper body flexibility and aerobic endurance, and the incidence of falls. There was no correlation between the incidence of falls and the flexibility of the lower body.Conclusions: Levels of all evaluated physical fitness parameters are significantly lower among the seniors who had experienced falls in comparison to their peers who had not experienced falls. Therefore, maintaining good physical fitness should become an important element of fall prevention. In light of the study, it seems reasonable to introduce prevention programmes that take differences between sexes into consideration. As a part of fall prevention, such programmes aimed at improving and maintaining good physical fitness among seniors should include flexibility and aerobic endurance training for men and strength training for women.
Authors and Affiliations
Jadwiga L. Kubica
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP77673
- DOI -
- Views 73
- Downloads 0
Wartości normatywne statycznej i dynamicznej wytrzymałości mięśni brzucha u zdrowych Nigeryjczyków
Wstęp: Znajomość wartości normatywnych dla wytrzymałości mięśni brzucha jest istotna dla identyfikacji zaburzeń i niepełnosprawności, oraz dla określania miar wyniku w rehabilitacji pacjentów z bólami krzyża.Materiał i m...
The manual therapy influence on health related quality of life of migraine patients
Introduction: The aim of the study was to compare the effects of manual therapy and a standard treatment on the health-related quality of life in patients with chronic migraine pain.Material and methods: Two groups diagn...
Kontynuacja rehabilitacji po udarze mózgu w domu według modelu EHSD
Rosnące koszty opieki zdrowotnej zmuszają organizatorów do poszukiwania nowych rozwiązań, które pozwoliłyby na zmniejszenie kosztów leczenia. W ostatnich latach pojawiła się obiecująca alternatywa dla rehabilitacji stacj...
Effect of winter swimming on morphological parameters of blood and a thermal evaluation of the body based on winter swimmers
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of regular winter swimming on the morphological parameters of blood and the distribution of body surface temperature among winter swimmers.Methods: The study i...
Optimization of early rehabilitation of patients undergoing cardio-surgical interventions – first-hand experiences
In this article, authors wish to share their experiences in work with the patients after cardio-thoracic surgery. Consecutive stages of early hospital rehabilitation and applied methods of therapeutic conduct have been d...