Efetividade de um programa de exercícios multimodal em idosos ativos

Abstract

Introduction: The elderly population has been growing over the years this process entails several morphological, functional, biochemical and psychological changes. With these physiological changes, one can present comorbidities in various systems such as cardiorespiratory, neurological, functional, vascular, muscular and among others. In this context, physical exercise is pointed out as one of the best resources to help the aging process. Objective: To evaluate the life and health condition of active elderly participants in a multimodal exercise program. Methods: Randomized, single-blind clinical trial with the participation of 23 elderly in total, divided into two intervention groups: G1 (multimodal exercise) and G2 (aerobic exercise), with each intervention lasting 9 weeks. The G1 performed exercises lasting 50 minutes, three times a week containing strength, balance, coordination, double-task and respiratory exercises, with progression of difficulty every 3 weeks and G2 performed walking with duration of 12 minutes for 9 weeks with progression of difficulty every 3 weeks. The following were used for evaluation: Sociodemographic Questionnaire, SF-36 Quality of Life Questionnaire, Piper Fatigue Scale – revised, Respiratory Muscle Strength Assessment (Manovacuometry), Peak Expiratory Flow (PEF), Timed Up And Go Test – TUG before and after the interventions and Borg Scale during the interventions. Results: G1 showed improvement in PEF and MEP compared to pre- and post-intervention. When the two groups were compared, Group 1 presented better indices of General Health Status, PEF, Fatigue and Functional Capacity. Conclusion: The practice of multimodal exercises can influence the health condition of the elderly population, showing improvement in general health status, airway permeability, muscle fatigue and functional capacity. Being a preventive strategy and assist in the implementation of public policies specifically aimed at prolonging and/or reducing the physiological and determinant effects for the health status of the elderly.