ABSTRACT:The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of deep aquatic exercises on lower body strength and balance among elderly men. Thirty elderly men over 65 years old were randomly divided into two equal groups including experimental and control groups. Experimental group participated in a deep aquatic exercise program that consisted of 60-minute sessions three times a week for 8 weeks while control group had no plan of exercise. Muscle strength and balance was assessed before and after the program as pre and post-test by HHD (Hand-Held Dynamometer) and BBS (Biodex Balance System) respectively. Repeated measures two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed on outcome variables (p≥0.05). Deep aquatic exercises promoted significant increases in the elderly men's muscle strength and balance, as assessed using HHD (p< 0.001) and the BBS (p< 0.001).The present deep-aquatic exercise training for the elderly are able to improve the muscle strength and static balance.

Background: Biomechanical factors are the main mechanism of load applied on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of eight weeks of core stability training on the lower extremity joints moment during a single leg drop landing task.Material and methods: Thirty basketball athletes were randomly assigned into training and control groups. The training group performed core stability training for 8 weeks, but the control group did not perform these exercises. Lower extremity kinetics and kinematics variables during a single leg drop landing test were collected by a motion analysis system and a force plate in a pre-and post-test. Data were analyzed using a mixed repeated measure ANOVA test (p ≤ 0.05). Results:The results showed there was a significant reduction in the moment of flexion, adduction and rotation of the hip and the moment of the knee and subtalar joint in the training group (p < 0.05), while there was no significant reduction in the ankle moment (p > 0.05).Conclusions: Core stability training that was used in this study can reduce the forces exerted on the lower extremity joints during single leg drop landing. So, this study provides evidence that core stability training reduces lower extremity joints moment and may reduce the risk of ACL injury in athletes.

Objectives Proprioception improvement in lower limb joints plays an important role in reducing falling risk in the elderly. Since proprioception improvement in the lower limb joints have the most relevance to better balance in the elderly, this study aimed to investigate the role of ankle and knee joint proprioception on balance improvement in the elderly after an aquatic exercise program. Methods & Materials total of 30 elderly male (60-70 years old) were randomly selected and classified into intervention and control groups. Postural sway parameters and proprioception acuity were evaluated using the Biodex balance system and photography method, respectively. Then the intervention group participated in an aquatic exercise program for 8 weeks while the control group did not receive any intervention. All subjects were reassessed upon completion of the intervention program and the Pearson correlation test was used for data analysis (P≤0.05). ResultsThe results of this study showed a significant relationship between the changes of the ankle joint proprioception and the postural control ability after conducting the 8 weeks of aquatic exercise program (P<0.05); while the above relationship was not significant in the case of the knee joint (P>0.05). Conclusion It seems that the improvement in ankle joint proprioception plays a more important role in improving the postural control ability of the elderly compared with the other lower limb joints. Accordingly, it is recommended that the special role of the ankle joint should be more considered in the exercise planning for balance improvement in the elderly.

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