Elderly Improve Balance With Yoga at Her Active Life

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Elderly Improve Balance With Yoga

Posted April 9, 2008 at 07:00 PM by Alexandra Haller

Section: Her Fitness, Athletics, Training Programs, Her Health, Injury & Rehab, Her News

elderly sign The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number one reason the elderly suffer nonfatal injuries and visit hospitals is because of falls. In fact, almost a third of all people over the age of 65 suffer some type of fall.

Now that we know what the problem is, the experts want to figure out how to help older people avoid falling in the first place. Their solution seems to involve yoga.

The researchers at Temple University’s Gait Study Center think that improving balance and flexibility through yoga practice can help reduce the risk of falls.

“After nine weeks of participating in an Iyengar yoga program designed for senior citizens, 24 elderly females had a faster stride, an increased flexibility in the lower extremities, an improved single-leg stance and increased confidence in walking and balance.” The findings will be presented at the Gait and Clinical Movement Analysis Society’s annual meeting in Richmond, Va. this week.

The type of yoga that the women followed was specifically designed for them. Iyengar is a practice of yoga that incorporates straps and blocks so that participants can gradually become more familiar with the postures, while slowly developing confidence.

“In the past, similar studies have been done that look at gait and balance improvement in elderly females using a more aggressive form of yoga,” principal investigator Dr. Jinsup Song said. “For this study, we worked to create a very basic regimen that taught participants proper ways to breathe, stand and pose.”

To add to the list of health benefits, participants also reported a decrease in unrelated knee and back pain after participating in the study.

Take the message to heart ladies: stay limber, live long and live well!