Abstract

LANDINEZ PARRA, Nancy Stella; CONTRERAS VALENCIA, Katherine  and  CASTRO VILLAMIL, Ángel. Aging, exercising and physical therapy. Rev Cubana Salud Pública [online]. 2012, vol.38, n.4, pp. 562-580. ISSN 0864-3466.

Objective: to describe the benefits of physical activity and regular exercising for the older population. Methods: a search was made in Science Direct, Springer Journal, Springer books and Pubmed databases, with the support of scientific information searcher Scirus. The terms for the search were aging, physical therapy, physical activity, physical exercising and older people. The analyzed articles covered reviews, research papers, and book chapters. Results: the fundamentals for the main processes inherent to aging, the structural changes that they generate and their physiological or physiopathological consequences were provided. The term "active aging", suggested by the WHO, was included. It implies several strategies for the health promotion and for the prevention of deficiencies and disabilities, and also involves regular physical exercising or activity programs. Physical therapy helps to promote health, to prevent and cure diseases and to recover the individual's health. Some of its programs are aimed at treating disability problems from diseases such as Parkinson, Alzheimer's, arthritis, bone fractures, osteoporosis, falls and cardiorespiratory disorders, and at encouraging movement and self-sufficiency through exercises, relaxation, pain management, cardiorespiratory care and others. Conclusions: a planned training program for the body contributes to improve the functional capacity of multiple organ systems; additionally, the exercising programs aimed at the older population may bring a reduction of health costs by preventing falls, strokes, myocardial infarction or chronic diseases inherent to aging.

Keywords : aging; physical therapy; physical activity; physical exercise; older people.

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