Exercise Improves Balance in Older Adults with Knee Osteoart
More evidence that exercise improves balance: Researchers at Wake Forest University and the University of Tennessee tested 103 adults over age 59 to see if regular, long-term exercise improves balance in seniors with knee osteoarthritis.
Subjects were divided into three groups. The aerobic exercise group walked at 50 percent to 85 percent of heart-rate reserve for 40 minutes at a time, interspersed with short rest periods if necessary, three days a week.
The weight-training group lifted free weights three days per week. They performed two sets of 10 to 12 reps of nine different exercises to strengthen both the lower and upper body.
The control group attended health education classes.
Subjects exercised under supervision for the first three months, then continued on their own for 15 more months, with regular follow-up calls to keep them on track.
Both aerobic walking and weight training significantly improved postural stability compared to the control group, whose balance deteriorated over the year and a half.
When subjects stood with their eyes closed, weight trainers swayed the least. When standing on one leg with their eyes open, walkers were able to balance the longest.
Source: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2000; 48, 2, 131-138
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