The Effect of Physical Activity Programs on Dynamic Balance of Older Adults during Covid-19

Abstract

Dynamic balance has been found to be a very important ability for older adults to improve posture control and prevent falls, injuries and hospitalisation. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of two different physical activity (PA) programmes on the dynamic balance ability of older adults. A total of 39 people (mean age: 62.31) from Tel-Aviv, Israel, participated in this research, which was initiated a few weeks before the Covid-19 restrictions. They were divided into three groups: 16 people participated in the Harmonic Gymnastics programme; the second group also consisted of 16 people who regularly practised moderate-to-high intensity fitness exercise; the third group included 7 participants who did not practise PA (No PA). Dynamic balance was measured using the Y-Balance Test before and after three months of the programme. The results showed that participants in the two PA groups increased their dynamic balance for both legs, although only the Harmonic Gymnastics group achieved significant results (p = 0.001). In the two PA groups, the number of falls decreased (p = 0.017 for both groups), and the No PA group recorded lower scores for both legs, although the decrease was significant only for the left leg (p = 0.043). The study emphasises the importance of PA for older age groups, especially in Covid-19 conditions, and the importance of the Harmonic Gymnastics PA programme that involves body awareness, coordination, vestibular and proprioceptive abilities.