Exercise For Seniors

Gianni Grasso, Kate Mathews, Amanda

Mahler

The Affect of the Nintendo Wii Fit and Exercise in

Improving Balance and Quality of Life in

Community Dwelling Elders

Jessie R. Franco, Karen Jacobs, Catrina Inzerillo, and JoAnn Kluzik

7 November 2011

Nintendo Wii Fit

Fun and motivating

User Friendly

Independently used by elderly populations

Cost effective

New alternative to exercise

Purpose

Study was conducted to determine the following:

Improvement in balance after 3-week exercise program with Wii Fit

Better improvement with Wii Fit over MOB exercises

If the elderly enjoyed using Wii Fit

Methods

Randomized group between the ages of 63-90

36 participants

Met the criteria

Divided into 3 study groups

Wii Fit group, 14 participants

MOB group, 13 participants

Control Group, 9

Data Collection

MOB Group

Met twice a week for three weeks

30-45 minutes per session

Strength and Balance exercises

Data Collection continued

Wii Fit Group

Met twice a week for three weeks

10-15 minutes per session

6 different games

** Both Increases intensity after each week**

Results

Significant increase in balance for Wii Fit participants over MOB group and control group

37.5% improvement on the Berg Balance Scale

81% said high levels of enjoyment in Wii Fit

18% said high improvements in balance

55% said it was better than traditional balance exercises

Discussion

All made small, but significant improvement in balance

Reasons why there weren’t greater improvements

No significant changes in health and well being

Majority would choose Wii Fit over traditional exercises

Communication was a factor

Conclusion

More enjoyable form of exercise

Sustainable program voluntarily use it

Small improvements in balance

Future studies, increase the duration

Virtual Augmented Exercise Gaming for Older Adults

Paul Van Schalk, Ph D, Jonathan Blake M.S., Fred Pernet MBA, Ian Spears Ph D, Clive Fencott

Purpose

Investigate the effectiveness of Virtual Augmented Exercise on physical activity for seniors

Virtual reality+ Exercise= better mood?

Overall more effective workout?

The researchers want to create an effective VR game that can promote a sensible workout regime for seniors

Include non-athlete

Negative thought people

Methods

22 healthy adults (12 male, 10 female)

50+

Three types of games

Outcome Measures

Perceived mood

Perceived exertion

Perceived duration of exercise (compared to actual length)

Final performance (based on targets hit)

Procedure

3 following exercise sessions in 3 consecutive weeks

1st

Blood pressureCompleted POMS-SFQuantity of sleep prior

2nd

Get started on 22 minute sessionAll vitals were recorded every 5 seconds

Procedure continued

3rd

Estimated duration of sessionEstimated exertionQuestionnaire

Last session

VAE bike or StandardPreference of which game

Results

Underestimated duration- 38%

Perceived exertion was off by 1.31

Mood was > than perceived mood

Adherence- 100%

VAE bike or Standard= VAE Bike

Non related puzzle was most frequently preferred

Discussion& Conclusion

Participants welcome VAE no matter what fitness level was

VAE was effective in distracting participants from duration

Research found benefits for cognitive functioning related to VAE performance

Promising?

Physical fitness of older adults in senior activity centers after 24-week silver yoga exercises

Journal of Clinical Nursing; Volume 17; Pages 2634–2646

Kuei-Min Chen, Ming-Hsien Chen, Shan-Mann Hong, Hui-Chen Chao, Huey-Shyan Lin and, Chun-Huw Li

Purpose

To promote physical fitness among the senior population

To increase flexibility among older adults in order to increase their quality of life

To provide seniors with a safe and efficient exercise program

To increase posture and breathing in older adults

Methods

204 subjects were recruited from eight different senior activity centers and 176 of the subjects were to complete the study

Subjects were randomly assigned to three groups:

1) Experiment I: complete silver yoga with stretching and meditation

2) Experiment II: shortened silver yoga without the guided-imagery meditation

3) Wait-list

Methods continued

• The study was conducted three days a week for 24 weeks

• Subjects were tested based upon their body compositions, cardiovascular–respiratory functions, physical functions and the range of motion.

ResultsResults were gathered at the end of the 24-week period

Subjects from Experiments I and II had a significant improvement

Experiment I had improvement in their cardiovascular–respiratory functions, physical functions and the range of motion

Experiment II had almost the same results as Experiment I except blood pressure remained the same.

Discussion

Posture was based on six primary types of movements: flexion, extension, hyperextension, abduction, adduction and rotation

They focused on increasing older adults’ range of motion and progressive muscle relaxation while still being aware of their physical limitations

Discussion Continued…

The Silver Yoga exercises proved to be beneficially for senior’s posture, balance, and range of motion

The consistency of the program (3 days a week for 24 weeks) allowed the participants to gradually improve their physical functions

Silver yoga does not have a strong correlation with improving body composition or blood pressure

Effect of the Exercise Dance for Seniors (EXDASE) Program on Lower- Body Functioning Among Institutionalized Older Adults

Iva Holmerova, Katerina, Machacova, Hana Vankova, Petr Veleta, Bonzena Jusaskova, Dana Hrnciarikova, Ladislav Volicer and Ross Andel

Journal of Aging and Health4 January 2010

Purpose

To examine the effect of Exercise Dance for Seniors (EXDASE) program on the lower body of older individuals in the Czech Republic

Improvement in lower body movements from dance- based exercise?

Methods

Experimental Group

Sedentary, low-functioning adults in RCFs.

RCFs: more functionally impaired, not active

216 participants agreed to participate

75 minute group session of 10-15 participants

Once a week

Intensity increased as the 3-month program went on

Polka, Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha-Cha-Cha, or Cancan

Methods continued

Control Group:

engaged in regular RCF activities

Results

According to pretest and posttest scores, the intervention group out performed the control group

Placed better scores in the 2 minute step test, sit-and-reach test, and the chair stand test

Positive Effect on lower body movements within older, sedentary individuals

Discussion

Dance- Based therapy is an effective option for this population

Easily modifiable to fit different physical functioning levels

Participants “rediscovered” forgotten abilities they once had when they were younger

Conclusion

Significant positive effects with once a week training

Has the ability to maintain or even improve mobility performance

Dance- related therapy offered more advantages for this population

Found improvement in self-esteem

Participants enjoyed the sessions, familiar with the movements

Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Tracking Performance in Elderly People: A pilot Study

Racheal C Bakken, James R Carey, Richard P Di Fabio, Trevor J Erlandson,Jenifer L Hake, Todd W

Intihar

Purpose

Does aerobic exercise have effect on visual spatial information processing during finger movement tracking in seniors?

To see if aerobic exercise has a benefit on cognitive processing

Methods

12 subjects completed (senior home in Minn.)

Randomly assigned to control or experimental group

Finger tracking sine wave computer program

Aerobic classes

Procedure

Pretest

3 ten second tracking periods

8 consecutive weeks of aerobic classes

3 times a week

Post test

5 days after last aerobic class

3 ten second trials

Results

Attendance 71%- 100%

Pre test

Experimental (averaged below -10)

Control (averaged below -5 to -10)

Post test

Experimental (improved to above 10)

Control (decreased to -20)

Discussion

Both groups= pre test below average performance

Control group decreased more during pretest

Experimental group improved by 26%

Each group no significant aerobic difference

More testing because this test was a small number of participants

Conclusion

Elderly men and women aged (72-91 years), visuospatial information processing, as measured by finger tracking movements, may improve with aerobic exercise

Overall Conclusion…

Aerobic exercise= more effects than cardiovascular functioning for seniors

The technique of distraction is effective in more than two studies

Meditation and aerobic activity was shown to increase quality of life