Influence of a brisk walking program on postural responses in sedentary older women: a randomised trial
Résumé
This study analyzes the evolution in kinematic and non-linear stabilometric parameters in elderly sedentary women selected to participate in a brisk walking program. Ninety-four women were randomly selected for a program of 78 sessions over 6~months, with three sessions of 60~min per week. On the force platform, participants were assessed with both eyes opened as well as eyes closed during a period of 51.2~s and the sampling frequency was 40~Hz. The main dependent kinematic variables were the length, stabilogram surface, and the mean position in anteroposterior as well as medio-lateral directions. For the dynamic approach, we have selected the parameters of recurrence quantification analysis, sample entropy, and multiscale entropy. The kinematic and the time series analysis of group \texttimes time interactions demonstrated that 6~months of walk-training lacked influence on kinematic postural responses and on dynamical measurements. The weekly brisk walking program was situated on flat ground and consisted of three 60-min weekly sessions lasting 6~months, leading to no significant effect on postural responses. In regards to international recommendations brisk walking is a pertinent exercise. However, in older sedentary women, our study indicated a systemic lack of influence of 6~months' walk-training on flat ground on kinematic postural responses and on dynamical measures obtained by time series analysis.