Department of Law, Society, and Sport Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy ; Sicilian Regional Sports School of Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Sicily, Italy.
Sicilian Regional Sports School of Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Sicily, Italy.
Clin Interv Aging. 2014 Apr 11;9:653-60. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S59548. eCollection 2014.
Aging-related reduced spinal mobility can interfere with the execution of important functional skills and activities in elderly women. Although several studies have shown positive outcomes in response to spinal flexibility training programs, little is known about the management of sets and repetitions in training protocols. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an 8-week specific and standardized flexibility training program on the range of spinal motion in elderly women.
PARTICIPANTS WERE RECRUITED IN A SENIOR CENTER OF PALERMO AND RANDOMLY ASSIGNED IN TWO GROUPS: trained group (TG) and control group (CG), which included 19 and 18 women, respectively. TG was trained for 8 weeks at two sessions/week. In particular, every session included three phases: warm up (10 minutes), central period (50 minutes), and cool down (~10 minutes). CG did not perform any physical activity during the experimental period. Spinal ranges of motion (ROM) were measured from neutral standing position to maximum bending position and from neutral standing position to maximum extension position before and after the experimental period, using a SpinalMouse® device (Idiag, Volkerswill, Switzerland).
After the training period, TG showed an increase in spinal inclination by 16.4% (P<0.05), in sacral/hip ROM by 29.2% (P<0.05), and in thoracic ROM by 22.5% (P>0.05) compared with CG from maximum extension position to maximum bending position. We did not observe any significant difference in TG's lumbar ROM compared with CG after the training period (P>0.05).
We found that an 8-week flexibility training program improved ROMs of the spine in elderly women. The training protocol appeared to be practicable for active elderly people with autonomy and the capability for self-care.
与衰老相关的脊柱活动度降低会干扰老年女性执行重要的功能技能和活动。尽管几项研究表明，脊柱柔韧性训练方案有积极的效果，但对于训练方案中组数和重复次数的管理知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨 8 周专门且标准化的柔韧性训练方案对老年女性脊柱运动范围的影响。
研究对象从巴勒莫的一家老年人中心招募，并随机分为两组：训练组（TG）和对照组（CG），分别包括 19 名和 18 名女性。TG 每周训练 2 次，共 8 周。每次训练包括 3 个阶段：热身（约 10 分钟）、核心阶段（约 50 分钟）和冷却（约 10 分钟）。CG 在实验期间不进行任何体育活动。使用 SpinalMouse®设备（Idiag，Volkerswill，瑞士），在实验前后，从中立站立位到最大弯曲位和中立站立位到最大伸展位测量脊柱活动度（ROM）。
经过训练期后，TG 从最大伸展位到最大弯曲位的脊柱倾斜度增加了 16.4%（P<0.05），骶骨/髋部 ROM 增加了 29.2%（P<0.05），胸椎 ROM 增加了 22.5%（P>0.05），与 CG 相比。TG 的腰椎 ROM 在训练后与 CG 相比没有显著差异（P>0.05）。
我们发现，8 周的柔韧性训练方案改善了老年女性的脊柱活动度。该训练方案似乎对具有自主性和自我护理能力的活跃老年人可行。
