Elderly’s Physical-Functional Fitness and Perceived Functional Capacity and Health after Participation in a Hydrotherapy Program

Several studies have demonstrated how physical activity in older people benefits their physical fitness, health and well-being. The relation between physical activity and perceived functional capacity and health is yet to be considered. This study is a quantitative research design that investigated the improvement of the physical-functional fitness and the perception of the functional capacity and health of an elderly group participating in a water-based exercise program (hydrotherapy). The data was collected in three different moments of the exercise program through a battery of tests of physical-functional fitness established by Batista and Sardinha (2005) and a questionnaire adapted from SABE project (Lebrão and Duarte, 2003). Twenty-six elderly persons (23 women and 3 men) aged between 60 and 84 years old participated in a 31-week hydrotherapy program (twice a week; 45 minutes by session). Friedman test was used for assessing statistical differences between the physical-functional fitness and the questionnaire responses in each of the three evaluation moments. Results revealed that this program was enough to improve the physical-functional fitness of the elderly, as well as the perception they had about their health and ability to perform activities of daily living.