The impact of different types of physical activity on walking as a vital everyday movement in older adults

Abstract

Introduction:Due to an international trend of the aging population, we see increased attention paid to studies dealing with the factors that have a positive or negative impact on successful aging. As we know, a higher level of physical activity and thus increased physical fitness sig-nificantly affect the quality of aging. One of the major problems in the elderly is the risks of falls. This age group is at high risk of injuries caused by falls. Analyses of aspects related to the falls revealed the significance of lower muscular tension, previous experience with falling, the bad stereotype of the walk, impaired balanced abilities, and so on. Purpose: In this study, we focused on the impact of different types of physical activity on walking as a vital everyday movement. Methods: Fortyfour older adults (Mage 69,09 years, SD 4,25; 22 male and 22 female) were randomly assigned to four groups, three training groups, and one control group; resistance training group, proprioceptive training group, endurance training group. The group consisted of seniors without a history of malignant disease during their life and without regular physical activity. All groups were tested on timed 10-meter walk test (10MWT), the 3-m backward walk (3MBW), and the 6-minute walk test (6MWD) at baseline, after 12 weeks and after 14 weeks (2 weeks after finishing intervention program). The 10MWT is used to assess walking speed over a short distance. The 3MBW is a test-close related fall risk. The 6MWD is a sub-maximal exercise test used to assess aerobic capacity and endurance. The distance covered over a time of 6 minutes is used as the outcome by which to compare changes in performance capacity. Results: We revealed differences between the types of exercises and the sustain-ability of the acquired skills. Results indicated significant improvements in gait speed in all ex-ercise groups. Subsequent measurements after a 14-day off indicated a slight deterioration trend in all groups. The resistance group showed the best results in the walk-back test. This group was the only one to maintain its standard also after 14-days off. All groups, including control, showed an improvement in aerobic capacity and endurance (measured by 6MWD). We found out differences between groups only after 14-day off. Conclusion: Our study confirmed the usefulness of performing targeted physical activity in older adults. Resistance and proprioceptive training has shown an important role in the pre-vention of falls.