Avaliação da capacidade funcional de idosos participantes de um programa de exercício físico

Abstract

Objective: To test whether there is an association between the variables of the functional capacity of the elderly participants in a physical exercise program. Methods: The study sample consisted of 19 elderly people (12 women and 7 men) participating in the project called Saúde em Movimento of the Universidade Federal do Ceará, with an average age of 68,1 ± 5,4 e 71,3 ± 5,1 years old, and height of 1,5±0,1 and 1,6±0,1 cm, respectively. They were submitted to tests to evaluate the resistance of strength and flexibility of lower and upper limbs, dynamic balance, aerobic resistance and right and left handgrip strength. It was used descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and Spearman's test for correlation between variables. The significance level was p <0.05. Results: There was a significant correlation between aerobic resistance and dynamic balance (r= -0.824, p= 0.002), and right handgrip strength and lower limb flexibility (r= 0.663, p= 0.019) for women and left handgrip strength and resistance of lower limb strength (r=0.793, p=0.033), and time of practice and right handgrip strength (r= -0.811; p= 0.027) for men. Conclusion: It's possible to conclude that lower limb strength resistance is associated with overall muscle strength parameters. The association between this indicator and handgrip strength, as well as the association between aerobic resistance and dynamic balance, are important measures for the diagnosis/prognosis of the elderly's condition.