Efeitos de um programa aquático voltado para a prevenção de quedas em idosos de comunidade

Abstract

Introduction: Bodily changes such as decreased muscle strength, the speed of muscle contraction and postural changes affect mobility and balance in the elderly. These changes cause some damage, such as increasing the risk of falls. Aquatic exercises help in improving ba lance, but there is a lack of specific protocols to work proactively with the elderly. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the static and dynamic balance of elderly before and after an aquatic physical therapy program aimed at preventing fall s. Methodology: The sample consisted of 14 community elderly with a mean age of 67 ± 3.53, of both sexes. The elderly were subjected to a program of two months with session 50 minutes of aquatic exercises for balance and muscle strength of the lower limbs, low to moderat e intensity. The analysis was carried out using the Graphpad PRISM ® software, adopting p <0.05, by using the Kolmogorov - Smirnov and Wilcoxon test. Results: The average in pre BERG Balance Scale was 47.42 ± 0.93 and after the intervention of 55.35 ± 0.74, indicating clinic significant balance improvement (p = 0.002). In March Dynamic Index pre average was 19.42 ± 3.22 and 23.5 ± 0.75 powders also with significant increase (p = 0.0022). In a test loop, the mean time post - intervention running fell 16,16 '(29, 68 pre' and post 13,52 '), and an extremely satisfactory result (p = 0.0012). Conclusion: The water program was effective for increasing the balance in the soil of the elderly, which contributes to reducing falls.