Positive effect of Isostretching in aquatic environment on muscle flexibility in elderly people

• Autor(a) principal: Cubas,Suzane Rodrigues Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Outros Autores: Ribas,Danieli Isabel Romanovitch
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ggaging.com/details/415
• topic: elderly; hydrotherapy; muscle stretching exercises.

<p><b>INTRODUCTION:</b> Flexibility reduces with age due to insufficient activity of the neuromuscular system, disuse of the skeletal muscles, and a lack of physical conditioning, therefore resulting in decreased autonomy and inability to perform daily activities.<br> <b>OBJECTIVE:</b> To evaluate the effects of Isostretching in aquatic environment on muscle flexibility of elderly people.<br> <b>METHODS:</b> A longitudinal, nearly experimental, uncontrolled study conducted with 26 individuals of both sexes, average age 67.5 ± 7 years, evaluated in terms of lower limb flexibility through the "sit and reach" test before and after a 12-week session of Isostretching in aquatic environment. The sample was tested for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk test, and the pre and post practice results were compared using the Wilcoxon test, considering p &lt; 0.05.<br> <b>RESULTS:</b> When comparing pre and post results of Isostretching in aquatic environment, a significant improvement (p &lt; 0.05) was observed in the posterior chain flexibility (12.5 cm) of lower limbs in the studied group.<br> <b>CONCLUSION:</b> Isostretching performed in aquatic environment improved the posterior chain flexibility of lower limbs in a group of elderly people.</p>