Effect of an Aquatic Endurance Exercise on Mental General Health in Male Elders

Objectives: Aquatic exercise is one of the major activities that recommend to elderly people. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of aquatic endurance exercise on the mental health, physical symptoms, social performance, anxiety and depression of the male elders. Methods & Materials: In this study, 30 male elders were selected and randomly divided into control and experimental groups. First, all subjects completed General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). Then the experimental group received 6 weeks aquatic endurance exercise (three sessions per week) for six weeks and the control group performed their daily routine activities. After the training intervention, both groups again completed the GHQ - 28. Data analysis with paired and independent samples t-test was performed. Results: The results showed that aquatic endurance exercise has significant effect on mental health (P=0.000), physical symptoms (P=0.000), social performance (P=0.000), anxiety (P=0.034) and depression (P=0.000) of the experimental groups, while in the control group who had not participated in aquatic endurance exercises, no significant changes were observed. The results also showed that there is a significant difference (P=0.001) between the average score of mental general health of experimental and control group after the exercise. Conclusion: Based on this study it can be concluded that aquatic endurance exercise has a positive impact to geriatric psychiatric assessment on the mental general health, physical symptoms, social performance, anxiety and depression

A Comparison of Foot Plantar Pressure in Badminton Players with Normal and High-Arched Feet during the Two-Way Lunge

Background: Compared to the individuals with a normal arch structure, those with high or low arch can be at an increased risk of overuse injuries. The risk of overuse injury among athletes is high due, in part, to the repeated loading of the lower extremities. The current study aimed to determine if foot type (high-arched or normal) results in differences in plantar pressure during two badminton-specific movements (right-reverse lunge and right-lateral lunge). Methods: Twenty badminton players (10 with normal feet and 10 with higharched feet) completed five trials in both right-reverse and right-lateral lunge, while in-shoe pressure data were collected at 100 Hz. The peak pressure and mean pressure were analyzed among the subjects for five major anatomical regions of the foot, using the independent t test in SPSS version 20. The foot type was determined by the foot posture index (FPI) (α<0.05). Results: Results showed that the plantar pressure characteristics of normal and high-arched feet were different; such that in high-arched feet, as compared to normal subjects, there were significantly fewer pressure strikes in the medial (P=0.010) and lateral (P=0.002) mid-foot in right-reverse lunge and this was significantly higher in forefoot (P=0.003) and toes (P=0.010). However, the peak (P=0.157) and mean (P=0.104) pressure in the heel was higher but not significant. In the right- lateral lunge, we found statistically lower peak pressure stroke for the lateral mid-foot (P=0.010) and forefoot (P=0.011); however, the mean pressure was lower in the lateral (P=0.010) and medial (P=0.040) mid-foot and forefoot (P=0.120), although it was not significant in the forefoot. Conclusion: Results showed that the medial longitudinal arch of the foot might cause pressure differences in the feet among the players with normal and higharched feet. As the results demonstrated, in high-arched feet, there are some regions where plantar pressure is higher and some where it is lower. Therefore, in order to prevent the badminton players from suffering probable foot injuries, attention should be paid to the compatibility of the insole/shoe and the medial longitudinal arch and other areas of the foot that suffer more pressures than normal subjects. 2017© The Authors. Published by JRSR. All rights reserved