earticle

영어

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effects of proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) upper and lower limb coordinated exercises on balance in elderly women. Methods: The study was conducted with 27 elderly women who were at least 65-year-old. The subjects were randomly assigned to a PNF upper and lower limb coordinated exercise group consisting of 14 subjects and an aero step balance exercise group consisting of 13 subjects, and the exercises were performed for 30 minutes, three times per week, for eight weeks. One Leg Stance Tests (OLST), Functional Reaching Tests (FRT), Four Square Step Tests (FSST), and Timed Up and Go (TUB) tests were conducted before and after the exercises to evaluate the subjects’ static balance ability and dynamic balance ability. Among the collected data, the subjects’ general characteristics were evaluated using descriptive statistics, the intra-group differences of the test results before and after the intervention were compared using paired sample t-tests, and the inter-group differences in the results before and after the intervention were evaluated using independent sample t-tests. The statistical significance level was set to 0.05. Results: Among the OLST, FRT, FSST, and TUG tests, the experimental group showed positive FSST results that were statistically significantly greater than the control group; the results of the other tests were also more positive for this group, but the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. The magnitude of the effects for both groups was clinically significant. Conclusion: Since inter-limb coordinated exercises for PNF applied to elderly women were found to produce good results for both static balance ability and dynamic balance ability, these exercises can be used in exercise programs to improve balance in elderly women.