Older adults are highly vulnerable to falling down and getting hurt, what their weakening bones and joints. Scientists have confirmed that as long as older adults engage in regular physical activity (provided it is done with caution and doctor's monitoring), the risk of falling and getting hurt can be lowered.
A new study has significantly supplemented on this knowledge, revealing that the best exercise for older adults is swimming. The exercise, concluded the researchers, is the best if not the only activity that is guaranteed to lower the risk of falls and injuries among older adults.
The Australian study involved around 1,700 men aged 70 years old and older. Their physical activities were compared and analyzed with their likelihood of experiencing falls within a four-year span. The study recorded over 2,700 falls.
The researchers discovered that men who practiced swimming had an average of 33 percent lesser chance of experiencing a fall, compared with other participants who did not swim at all but engaged in other forms of exercise.
According to study author Dafna Merom, the reason for this is that swimmers are trained to create their own base of support while producing a coordinated movement of both upper and lower extremities. Merom is an associate professor of physical activity and health at the University of Western Sydney in Australia.
Interestingly, the researchers also discovered that those participants who swam had better results on a test of "postural sway" than the average of all other men in the study.
Currently, walking is regarded as the most common form of exercise among older adults. However, studies have been popping up revealing that walking does not significantly reduce the risk of falls and injuries.
Although the study involved only men as participants, the researchers noted that it is also highly likely that swimming also prevents falls among women. Merom believes that it will work even better with women, as women generally have less muscle strength compared to men.
This groundbreaking study was published in the mid-October 2014 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.