2023-04-19 14:35:08
the Walking leader project aims to promote movement, enhance the culture of safety and correct lifestyles and combat sedentary lifestyle
About one in three people over the age of 65 falls accidentally at least once a year and the percentage rises as age progresses, with unpleasant consequences especially if there is a fracture that risks taking away autonomy and favoring physical and cognitive decline . Many falls can be prevented and physical activity is undoubtedly one of the most valid strategies. From this awareness, the Walking Leader project came to life which aims to promote movement in the elderly, enhance the culture of safety and correct lifestyles and, above all, counteract a sedentary lifestyle. The project was born from the collaboration between the Geriatrics Unit of the Palermo Polyclinic, the Department of Psychological, Pedagogical, Physical Exercise and Training Sciences of the Palermo University itself, the Army of Sicily as well as the CUS Palermo.
The program The Walking leaders project is designed for women and men over 60 years of age, who can join for free and on a voluntary basis, and aims to involve more than 150 individuals. Thanks to a team made up of doctors, psychologists and motor science graduates, the people involved are trained through a series of both educational and practical meetings, exploring different topics, from the foundations of a healthy and balanced diet to adapted physical activity up to management of stress. All the participants underwent an accurate postural assessment during the project — points out Giuseppe Messina, vicar coordinator of the Master in posturology and biomechanics at the University of Palermo —-. They were used for this purpose instruments to evaluate plantar support, posture and biomechanics of movement of the lower limbs as well as a three-dimensional detection system (Spine 3d) which allows an accurate study of the spine without subjecting the person to traditional radiography.
Thanks to the postural analyzes to which the participants were subjected, it was possible to objectively highlight how the adapted motor activity protocols can contribute to reduce functional decline, allowing the elderly to maintain their self-sufficiency for as long as possiblenot counting the positive psychological effects. Our project proposes an innovative intervention model whose main objective is to use specific training protocols for improving postural stability with the consequent decrease in the risk of falls and accidents in the elderly – reports Professor Mario Barbagallo, director of the complex operating unit of geriatrics of the Palermo Polyclinic -. Balance disorders are very frequent in old age due to the so-called multisensory decline, which seems to be one of the phenomena that characterize the aging process. Indeed, it is known that in the elderly the functions of the main balance regulation systems (visual, somato-sensory and vestibular) can undergo significant alterations so as to compromise the physical stability and therefore the very safety of the person. It is no coincidence that balance disorders are among the most frequent causes of disability and falls in the elderly, but improving postural stability with a targeted strategy can make the difference.
April 19, 2023 (change April 19, 2023 | 2:34 pm)
© Time.News
#Palermo #initiative #prevent #falls #elderly #time.news