We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
Comparative Effects of Horse Exercise Versus Traditional Exercise Programs on Gait, Muscle Strength, and Body Balance in Healthy Older Adults.
- Authors
Aranda-García,, Silvia; Iricibar, Albert; Planas, Antoni; Prat-Subirana, Joan A.; Angulo-Barroso, Rosa M.
- Abstract
This study evaluates the separate effect and retention of 12-week traditional (TE) and horse (HE) exercise programs on physical function in healthy older participants (61 to 87 years old). Thirty-eight participants were randomly assigned to three groups: TE (n = 17), HE (n = 10), and control group (n = 11). TE and HE underwent a supervised exercise program (3 day/week). Maximal gait speed, muscle strength, and body balance were assessed at weeks 0, 12, and 16. Only TE and HE displayed significant improvements (P < .05) in knee extensor strength, and only HE had faster gait speed. Marginal balance improvements were found only in HE in the medial-lateral direction. However, TE showed larger improvements in handgrip than HE. The largest retention was in knee extensor strength but most of the exercise effects were lost in the follow-up. Besides TE, exercise with a horse may be an alternative option to older adults, provided that they want to interact with the animal.
- Subjects
EXERCISE; DIAGNOSIS; COMPARATIVE studies; POSTURAL balance; GAIT in humans; HORSES; MUSCLE strength; PROBABILITY theory; STATISTICAL sampling; RANDOMIZED controlled trials; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; OLD age
- Publication
Journal of Aging & Physical Activity, 2015, Vol 23, Issue 1, p78
- ISSN
1063-8652
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1123/japa.23.1.78