Aim: To investigate the effects of a 4-month judo training (1-h training session, twice a week) on functional fitness and fear of falling in older individuals (age: 60–76 years). Methods: The experimental group (JG) (females = 9, males = 10; 68.9 ± 3.7 years) and the control group (CG) (females = 5, males = 9; 70.4 ± 4.8 years) were administered the Sit&Reach (SR), Back Scratch (BS), 30-s Chair Stand (CS), 30-s Arm Curl (AC) and Handgrip Strength (HS) functional test and to Visual Analogue Scale of Fear of Falling (VAS FoF). A 2 (group) 9 2 (gender) 9 2 (intervention) ANOVA for repeated measures was applied to ascertain differences (p<0.05). Results: A main effect emerged for gender (p<0.001) and intervention (p<0.001), whilst a significant interaction intervention x group (p<0.001) was revealed. Regarding intervention effect, significant differences emerged for BS (p = 0.008: pre: -4 ± 8.5 cm; post: -2.1 ± 8.2 cm) and AC (p\0.001: pre: 15.1 ± 2.4 repetitions; post: 17.6 ± 3.9 repetitions). For the intervention x group interaction, significant differences was confirmed for SR (p = 0.001: pre: -5.4 ± 7.9 cm; post: -2.1 ± 7.4 cm), BS (p\0.001: pre: -3.3 ± 8.5 cm; post: 0.2 ± 8.1 cm), CS (p = 0.001: pre: 15.3 ± 3.2 repetitions; post: 17.6 ± 3.1 repetitions) and AC (p<0.001: pre: 15.2 ± 2.5 repetitions; post: 19.9 ± 3.2 repetitions) in the JG. For VAS FoF, a main effect emerged for gender (p = 0.006: female: 1.88 ± 1.56 pt; male: 1.18 ± 0.44 pt) and group (p = 0.007: JG: 1.19 ± 0.49 pt; CG: 1.87 ± 1.54 pt). Furthermore, a gender x group interaction (p = 0.016) was found. Post-hoc analysis maintained differences (p<0.001) between females subgroups, between female and male CG and between female CG and male JG. Conclusions: Findings indicate that judo practice could be beneficial for functional fitness of older individuals and act positively against the fear of falling, which are relevant aspects of successful aging (Spirduso et al., 2005). References Spirduso W, Francis K, MacRae P (2005) Physical dimensions of aging. Human Kinetics Publisher.
Effects of judo on functional fitness and fear of falling in older individuals
Ciaccioni S;
2017-01-01
Abstract
Aim: To investigate the effects of a 4-month judo training (1-h training session, twice a week) on functional fitness and fear of falling in older individuals (age: 60–76 years). Methods: The experimental group (JG) (females = 9, males = 10; 68.9 ± 3.7 years) and the control group (CG) (females = 5, males = 9; 70.4 ± 4.8 years) were administered the Sit&Reach (SR), Back Scratch (BS), 30-s Chair Stand (CS), 30-s Arm Curl (AC) and Handgrip Strength (HS) functional test and to Visual Analogue Scale of Fear of Falling (VAS FoF). A 2 (group) 9 2 (gender) 9 2 (intervention) ANOVA for repeated measures was applied to ascertain differences (p<0.05). Results: A main effect emerged for gender (p<0.001) and intervention (p<0.001), whilst a significant interaction intervention x group (p<0.001) was revealed. Regarding intervention effect, significant differences emerged for BS (p = 0.008: pre: -4 ± 8.5 cm; post: -2.1 ± 8.2 cm) and AC (p\0.001: pre: 15.1 ± 2.4 repetitions; post: 17.6 ± 3.9 repetitions). For the intervention x group interaction, significant differences was confirmed for SR (p = 0.001: pre: -5.4 ± 7.9 cm; post: -2.1 ± 7.4 cm), BS (p\0.001: pre: -3.3 ± 8.5 cm; post: 0.2 ± 8.1 cm), CS (p = 0.001: pre: 15.3 ± 3.2 repetitions; post: 17.6 ± 3.1 repetitions) and AC (p<0.001: pre: 15.2 ± 2.5 repetitions; post: 19.9 ± 3.2 repetitions) in the JG. For VAS FoF, a main effect emerged for gender (p = 0.006: female: 1.88 ± 1.56 pt; male: 1.18 ± 0.44 pt) and group (p = 0.007: JG: 1.19 ± 0.49 pt; CG: 1.87 ± 1.54 pt). Furthermore, a gender x group interaction (p = 0.016) was found. Post-hoc analysis maintained differences (p<0.001) between females subgroups, between female and male CG and between female CG and male JG. Conclusions: Findings indicate that judo practice could be beneficial for functional fitness of older individuals and act positively against the fear of falling, which are relevant aspects of successful aging (Spirduso et al., 2005). References Spirduso W, Francis K, MacRae P (2005) Physical dimensions of aging. Human Kinetics Publisher.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
