Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Aquatics
Range of living by Mary E. Sanders
When the Golden Waves water exercise program began as a research study in 1996, its participants’ goals included greater range of motion. Dottie wanted to be able to use the ladder to enter the outdoor pool in the summer. Eileen wanted to explore cathedrals, museums and gardens in Europe with her daughter. And Joanne wanted to feel more comfortable getting in and out of her SUV. She also wanted to turn her head more freely, to see behind and around her while she drove.
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In the flow: water exercise for people with Parkinson's disease by Mary E. Sanders
Liz enjoyed an active life of swimming, travel and work as a fashion designer until she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at age 60. Liz’s life appeared to her husband to “get smaller.” He noticed his wife taking more steps than usual and moving much more slowly at everything she did. Liz admitted fearing she might “freeze up, like a statue” and fall. And she felt frustrated when her activities of daily living, such as bathing, making the bed and rising from a chair, became noticeably more difficult.
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Improving back health with water exercise by Mary Sanders
Maria is 59 years-old, sedentary and suffers from arthritis in her hips and knees, which sometimes makes her feel off-balance and klutzy. Due to an injury, she underwent a series of surgeries on her lumbar spine last year. Her neurosurgeon recommended water-based physical therapy for one year. With therapy, Maria’s condition slowly improved, despite intense pain during movement and a depressed mental state. Then it came time for her to move beyond therapy into a post-rehabilitation, community-based program.
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Splash:Bridging land and water exercise by Mary Sanders
Pools, exercise studios and weight rooms are set apart from each other in many fitness/wellness facilities. People on the dry side of a fitness program may never discover the wet side, and vice versa. Water fitness enthusiasts may miss a chance to improve their land-based exercise skills, while land-based exercisers may never explore the depths of the huge “liquid weight machine”.
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Making a splash by Mary E. Sanders & Nora L. Constantino
Some barriers to exercise expressed by older adults include fear of falling and discomfort1. Water provides the support of buoyancy and allows people to work at their own intensity simply by adjusting the movement’s size and speed. These factors minimize barriers, especially the fear of falling, while encouraging participants to explore new movements.
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The H2O solution: water exercise and functional fitness by Nora L. Constantino, Cathy Maloney-Hills, and Mary E. Sanders
As we age, we sense changes in our bodies. Once effortless tasks now seem harder, even resulting in post-activity pain, and our ability to complete the tasks we used to do seems diminished.
The loss of basic function or the ability to perform daily tasks is being reported at even younger ages today (Pope et al., 2001). The impact on our healthcare system will become greater and costs higher as more people require medical care. These facts coupled with a changing health delivery system make it important for healthcare providers to collaborate with health and wellness professionals in providing safe and effective activity programs.
