Effectiveness of SaBang-DolGi Walking Exercise Program on Physical and Mental Health of Menopausal Women

Abstract

Objective: We investigated the effectiveness of a 12-week SaBang-DolGi walking exercise program on the physical and mental health of menopausal women and aimed to provide the basic data needed to develop health promotion programs for the active and healthy aging of menopausal women. Materials and methods: The participants comprised 40 women aged 50–65 years who were divided into two randomly selected groups in training sessions (exercising group, n = 21 and control group, n = 19). A physical (grip, muscle and endurance) test and mental health test (simple mental health test II) were conducted using questionnaires with the aim of examining subjects’ physical and mental health before and after exercise. Results: After the intervention, the participants experienced positive changes in the physical dimension, with significant enhancements particularly in mental well-being and menopause-related health and subdomains. Controlled and regular exercise for 12 weeks was significantly correlated with a positive change in vitality and mental health. Conclusions: We found that the SaBang-DolGi walking exercise program helps to promote the physical and mental health of menopausal women who are exposed to the various stresses and depressions that accompany physical deterioration; the program was found to encourage active and healthy aging.

The Impact of Walking Programs on Reduction of Menopausal Symptoms: A Scoping Review

“…Three studies reported statistically significant (p < .05) decreases in levels of depression, with improvement in depressive symptoms postintervention (Abedi et al, 2015;Bernard et al, 2014;Noh et al, 2020). Two studies also observed statistically significant (p < .03) improvements in sleep quality, with the walking program (Tadayon et al, 2016;Noh et al, 2020). The remaining studies reported statistically significant (p < .01) positive changes in levels of luteinizing hormone, growth hormone and vascular endothelial growth factor (Hagner-Derengowska et al, 2015;Izzicupo et al, 2017).…”

“…As shown in Table 3, all studies reported improvements in menopausal symptoms as per respective indicators measured. Three studies reported statistically significant (p < .05) decreases in levels of depression, with improvement in depressive symptoms postintervention (Abedi et al, 2015;Bernard et al, 2014;Noh et al, 2020). Two studies also observed statistically significant (p < .03) improvements in sleep quality, with the walking program (Tadayon et al, 2016;Noh et al, 2020).…”

“…The outcomes, representing menopausal symptoms, investigated as well as the respective measures differed across studies. Depression was examined in three studies (Abedi, Nikkhah & Najar, 2015;Bernard et al, 2014;Noh et al, 2020), sleep quality was assessed in two (Tadayon et al, 2016;Noh et al, 2020), and other physiological signs including concentrations of growth hormone, luteinizing hormone, and vascular endothelial growth factor were examined in two studies (Hagner-Derengowska et al, 2015;Izzicupo et al, 2017).…”

“…All reviewed studies reported and adjusted for the confounding effects on their respective outcome measures. One confounding variable that was taken caution against by all studies was the fact that most participants were living sedentary lifestyles and possessed little training in physical activity prior to interventions; this may have exacerbated the outcome results observed after exercise interventions (Abedi et al, 2015;Tadayon et al, 2016;Izzicupo et al, 2017;Hagner-Derengowska et al, 2015;Bernard et al, 2014;Noh et al, 2020). Other reported confounders were more specific to the measures individual studies observed.…”

“…Large number of muscle groups are used which causes vasodilation of arteries and arterioles within lower extremities which causes release of circulating humoral factors including vascular endothelial growth factor which causes angiogenesis (formation of new blood vessels) (Pellegrini et al, 2015;Dela Paz et al, 2012). SaBang-DolGi is a traditional Korean exercise in which repeated and intensive use of the full body has been reported to be important for the relocation of the motor field of the cerebral cortex ; furthermore, a reduction of depression has been reported due to the central nervous system inducing changes in the cerebral cortex level (Noh et al, 2020).…”