Chen Kuei-Min, Chen Ming-Hsien, Hong Shan-Mann, Chao Hui-Chen, Lin Huey-Shyan, Li Chun-Huw
School of Nursing, Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
J Clin Nurs. 2008 Oct;17(19):2634-46. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02338.x.
Promoting physical fitness of young-older adults is essential in reducing healthcare expenditures which would occur in the future for those with chronic health problems. The silver yoga exercise programme was developed to accommodate the reduced body flexibility experienced by many older adults and was critically reviewed by experts and pilot-tested with community-dwelling older adults. This study aimed to test older adults' physical fitness after a 24-week silver yoga exercise programme and to examine whether the programme could be further shortened to fit senior activity centres' programme designs.
A quasi-experimental, pre-post tests design was used: baseline, at 12-week and at 24-week periods.
Convenience samples of 204 subjects were recruited from eight senior activity centres and 176 subjects completed the study. Subjects were randomly assigned into three groups based on the centres: (1) Experiment I: complete silver yoga with stretching and meditation, (2) Experiment II: shortened silver yoga without the guided-imagery meditation and (3) Wait-list control. The interventions were conducted three times per week for 24 weeks. Physical fitness indicators included body compositions, cardiovascular-respiratory functions, physical functions and the range of motion.
At the end of the 24-week period, the physical fitness of subjects in Experiments I and II had significantly improved whether or not guided-imagery meditation was used and all had better physical fitness than subjects in the control group (all p < 0.05).
The physical fitness of older adults in both the 70-minute complete silver yoga group and the 55-minute shortened silver yoga group had significantly improved after the interventions. It was recommended that the silver yoga programme be shortened by eliminating the guided-imagery meditation.
The shortened silver yoga exercise programme is recommended to be incorporated as an activity programme in community-settings to promote the physical fitness of older adults.
促进年轻老年人的身体健康对于减少未来那些患有慢性健康问题的人所需的医疗保健支出至关重要。银色瑜伽锻炼计划的制定是为了适应许多老年人身体柔韧性下降的情况，并经过了专家的严格审查以及在社区居住的老年人中进行了试点测试。本研究旨在测试经过24周银色瑜伽锻炼计划后老年人的身体健康状况，并研究该计划是否可以进一步缩短以适应老年活动中心的项目设计。
采用准实验性的前后测试设计：基线期、12周时和24周时。
从八个老年活动中心招募了204名受试者作为便利样本，176名受试者完成了研究。根据活动中心将受试者随机分为三组：（1）实验一：进行包含伸展和冥想的完整银色瑜伽；（2）实验二：缩短版银色瑜伽，不进行引导式意象冥想；（3）候补对照组。干预措施每周进行三次，共24周。身体健康指标包括身体成分、心肺功能、身体功能和活动范围。
在24周结束时，无论是否使用引导式意象冥想，实验一和实验二中受试者的身体健康状况都有显著改善，且所有人的身体健康状况都优于对照组受试者（所有p<0.05）。
干预后，70分钟完整银色瑜伽组和55分钟缩短版银色瑜伽组的老年人身体健康状况均有显著改善。建议通过取消引导式意象冥想缩短银色瑜伽计划。
建议将缩短版银色瑜伽锻炼计划纳入社区环境中的活动计划，以促进老年人的身体健康。
