Effect of Eight Weeks of Water Exercises on Deep Part of the Pool on the Static Balance of the Elderly Man

• Main Authors: Ehsan Seyedjafari, Mansour Sahebozamani, Ehsan Ebrahimipour
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences 2017-12-01
• Series: Sālmand
• Subjects: Water exercises; Elderly; Static balance; Falling
• Online Access: http://salmandj.uswr.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2089-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of deep aquatic exercises on balance among elderly men.  Methods & Materials Thirty elderly men voluntarily participated in this experiment. Subjects were randomly divided into two equal groups including experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in a deep aquatic exercise program that consisted of 60-minutes sessions three times a week for eight weeks, while the control group was not into any exercise. Postural stability (static balance) was assessed before and after the program as pre-test and post-test by Biodex Balance System (BBS) respectively. Independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test (P≤0.05) were performed on outcome variables. Results The results of the comparison between the two groups of 15 individuals in terms of demographic and anthropometric features[experimental group with mean age of (65.50±3.481), height (168.10±5.215), weight (70.865±7.775) and body mass index (24.781±2.483) and the control group with an average age of (66.50±3.232), height (169.20±6.314), weight (71.322±8.531) and body mass index (24.982±3.535) were divided], the two groups showed no difference in results is homogeneity. The findings of the study showed that aquatic exercises program has significant effect on the static balance (P≤0.05). The results indicated significant differences between the subjects of experimental and control groups after the exercise program, and also paired sample t-test showed significant differences between pre and post-tests in experimental group while no differences observed in control group.  Conclusion According to this study, doing the deep-aquatic exercises is effective on improving the static balance of old people and reducing their risk of falling.