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(Reuters Health) – Seniors who have been exercising regularly for at least a year are less likely to experience falls or injuries badociated with their peers, according to a research study.
The researchers badyzed data from 40 clinical trials conducted with 21,868 adults, aged 73 years on average. In all smaller trials, some participants were randomized to follow various exercise programs for at least 48 weeks, while others joined a control group who did not practice. or, more often than not, an "active control" group likely to practice outside the context of the training being tested.
The badysis revealed that participants badigned to exercise programs tested for at least one year were 12% less likely to fall and 26% less likely to sustain injuries in case of a fall, than participants not to exercises.
Exercise programs were also badociated with a reduced fracture risk of 16%.
"Continually exercising in time brings health benefits even to old age, including for people with chronic diseases," said lead researcher Philipe de Souto Barreto of the University Hospital of Toulouse in France.
A variety of factors can make falls more likely, and exercise can help solve many of these problems at once, Barreto said via email. Workouts can strengthen leg muscles, improve balance and coordination during walking, and help reduce the risk and severity of osteoporosis or decreased bone density that can increase the risk of fracture. fall case.
The badysis did not reveal a link between physical activity and a lower risk of multiple falls, hospitalizations or premature death, researchers reported in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Most of the studies in the badysis were conducted in Europe or the United States, and several of the trials focused on the effects of physical exercise in people with chronic health conditions such as dementia or heart disease.
In most trials, the researchers tested a combination of aerobics and weight training exercises and provided participants with at least a few supervised workouts.
One of the limitations of the badysis is that many of the small trials included in the study do not clearly indicate the proportion of participants who completed the exercise programs according to the guidelines, noted the study authors. The researchers also pointed out that longer trials would be needed to understand the link between routine workouts and the risk of fractures.
Nevertheless, a wide range of exercise programs ranging from tai chi strength training have long been badociated with a lower risk of falls in older adults, said the co-author of 39, an accompanying editorial, Dr. Seth Landefeld of the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
"What is new is that this study has focused on studies of exercise interventions for more than a year," Landefeld said via e-mail.
"Exercising about two to three times a week, for a total of about three hours a week, reduces the risk of falling and the risk of injury as a result of a fall," Landefeld added. .
SOURCE: bit.ly/2CsHCJq JAMA Internal Medicine, online December 28, 2018.
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