The Effects of Weight‑Bearing Exercise on Postural Control and Fatigue Index of Elderly Males

Aims: Functional decline in activities of daily living caused by chronic fatigue and postural control weakness are common symptoms of agingthat needed to be considered. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the effects of weight‑bearing exercise (WBE) on postural controland Fatigue Index of elderly males. Materials and Methods: Fifty‑two elderly men of Qazvin City were volunteered to participate in the researchand were allocated randomly into the two groups of either WBE (n = 26; 67.3 ± 2.4 years) or control group (n = 26; 68.1 ± 2.9 years). Functionaltest including maximal tolerance to treadmill walking (MTW) and test of Blood Lactate Acid Concentration (BLA) were considered as FatigueIndex before and after exercise intervention. In addition, good balance test was used to measure postural balance via static and dynamic balance.The exercise group performed (WBE) in a seven consecutive day, lasting 30 min in a session. Independent t‑test and paired t‑test were used toanalyze the data at the significance level of 0.05. Results: The results suggested that both functional test (MTW [P = 0.003]; BLA [P = 0.02])and postural control (static balance index [P = 0.001]; dynamic balance indices [P = 0.001]) were significantly improved in exercise groupcompared to control group. Conclusion: It appears that WBE would improve the functional performance of daily activities (postural controland fatigue tolerance) in the geriatric population.

کلیدواژه ها:

Balance ، fatigue ، functional capacity ، geriatric ، posture