Journal of Physical Therapy Science
Online ISSN : 2187-5626
Print ISSN : 0915-5287
ISSN-L : 0915-5287
Original Articles
An 8-week Aquatic Exercise Program is Effective at Improving Gait Stability of the Elderly
Hee Sung LimSu Yeon RohSukhoon Yoon
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JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2013 Volume 25 Issue 11 Pages 1467-1470

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Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks aquatic exercise on the gait stability of the elderly using dynamic factors: center of mass (COM), velocity of center of mass (COMV), and center of pressure (COP). [Subjects] Eleven elderly participants (age: 77.18 ± 4.96 yrs, height: 149.48 ± 3.61 cm, body mass: 56.94 ± 6.62 kg, and leg length: 82.36 ± 2.98 cm), participated in this study. [Methods] To identify the 8-week aquatic training effect, 3-D motion analysis with 7 infrared cameras and one force plate, was performed. [Results] For the COM-COP inclination angles, significantly decreased medial inclination angles were shown in both the posterior and anterior swing phases. For the COMV-COP inclination angles, decreased medial inclination angles were shown in both the posterior and anterior swing phases, but significant difference was found only in the posterior phase. [Conclusion] The results suggest that 8 weeks aquatic exercise is effective at improving the gait stability of the elderly. Further studies should extend the training period to gain statistically significant results for the effect of aquatic exercise in the anterior-posterior direction.

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© 2013 by the Society of Physical Therapy Science

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd) License.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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