Effect of Eight Weeks of Water Exercises on Deep Part of the Pool on the Static Balance of the Elderly Man

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of deep aquatic exercises on balance among elderly men.
Methods & Materials Thirty elderly men voluntarily participated in this experiment. Subjects were randomly divided into two equal groups including experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in a deep aquatic exercise program that consisted of 60-minutes sessions three times a week for eight weeks, while the control group was not into any exercise. Postural stability (static balance) was assessed before and after the program as pre-test and post-test by Biodex Balance System (BBS) respectively. Independent sample t-test and paired sample t-test (P≤0.05) were performed on outcome variables.
Results The results of the comparison between the two groups of 15 individuals in terms of demographic and anthropometric features[experimental group with mean age of (65.50±3.481), height (168.10±5.215), weight (70.865±7.775) and body mass index (24.781±2.483) and the control group with an average age of (66.50±3.232), height (169.20±6.314), weight (71.322±8.531) and body mass index (24.982±3.535) were divided], the two groups showed no difference in results is homogeneity. The findings of the study showed that aquatic exercises program has significant effect on the static balance (P≤0.05). The results indicated significant differences between the subjects of experimental and control groups after the exercise program, and also paired sample t-test showed significant differences between pre and post-tests in experimental group while no differences observed in control group.
Conclusion According to this study, doing the deep-aquatic exercises is effective on improving the static balance of old people and reducing their risk of falling.