Nordic walking as a form of physical activity affecting gait and balance in elderly people

Agnieszka Leszczyńska, Marta Dopierała, Jan W.Raczkowski

A. Leszczyńska, M. Dopierała, J. W.Raczkowski: Nordic walking as a form of physical activity affecting gait and balance in elderly people. FP 2015;15(4);98-107

Abstract
Introduction. In the process of aging there comes to deterioration in mobility which is related to, among others, age-related diseases. The pathophysiological changes, the applied treatment may adversely affect mobility leading to the disorders of postural stability and gait control. Gait/Walking is a natural form of physical activity and is a component of almost all daily activities. To sustain physical activity, minimize imbalance disorders and to improve gait, particularly in elderly people, Nordic Walking – a popular form of activity – is used more and more frequently.
Aim. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Nordic Walking training on the improvement of gait and balance in elderly people and its impact on subjective assessment of their well-being.
Material and methods. The study included 30 elderly subjects, most of them actively spending their leisure time, not practising Nordic Walking. Age and sex of the respondents, physical activity, difficulty in walking and subjective assessment of well-being were estimated on the basis of individual research questionnaire. The Functional Reach Test was used for quick evaluation of balance and the risk of falls. Get up and Go test and Tinetii Gait and Balance test were used for preliminary evaluation of gait and balance in elderly patients. The tests were performed both before and a month after Nordic Walking training. The results were statistically analyzed applying the PQStat software.
Results. Analysis of the results obtained before and after 1-month training in Functional Reach and Tinetti tests demonstrated significant improvement after the training, whereas the values obtained in the Get up and Go test after the training were much lower than before the training. A state of well-being in the subjective assessment of the respondents improved after Nordic Walking training.
Conclusions. One-month Nordic Walking training improved significantly gait and balance in the investigated subjects. A state of well-being in the subjective assessment of the respondents also improved after the training. Nordic Walking can become an important element in increasing the physical activity of older people and in improving their quality of life.

Key words:
physical activity, Nordic Walking, elderly people

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