Impact of Water Based Exercises on Balance in Elderly Women

Abstract

Aging has been shown to affect all of the systems causing poor balance in elderly subjects. Elderly subjects present serious problems due to poor balance such as falls and fractures which increase economical costs in health care. Objective: Purpose of the study was to find out the efficacy of aquatic exercises on balance in elderly women. Materials and Methods: Thirty elderly women participated in the study. Their age ranged from 60 to 70 years old and their body mass index ranged from 25 to 34.9. All the subjects performed aquatic exercises program which was divided into three phases: aquatic environment adaptation phase, stretching phase and a phase of static and dynamic exercises for balance under water for 45 minutes/session/3times/week for six weeks. The intensity was low to moderate, with constant frequency and speed, for 6 weeks. Each series was performed continuously and between each one there was a one-minute rest. Results: statistical analysis showed clearly that treatment by aquatic exercise program had significant positive effects on the results of berg balance scale and timed up and go test with percentage of improvement 11.64% and 21.19% respectively. Conclusion: it was concluded that aquatic exercises can be used as safe, efficient, adjacent therapy and improve balance among elderly women.