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Out-of-home mobility is necessary for accessing commodities, making use of neighborhood facilities, and participation in meaningful social, cultural, and physical activities. Mobility also promotes healthy aging as it relates to the basic human need of physical movement. Mobility is typically assessed either with standardized performance-based tests or with self-reports of perceived difficulty in carrying out specific mobility tasks. Mobility declines with increasing age, and the most complex and demanding tasks are affected first. Sometimes people cope with declining functional capacity by making changes in their way or frequency of doing these tasks, thus avoiding facing manifest difficulties. From the physiological point of view, walking is an integrated result of the functioning of the musculoskeletal, cardio-respiratory, sensory and neural systems. Studies have shown that interventions aiming to increase muscle strength will also improve mobility. Physical activity counseling, an educational intervention aiming to increase physical activity, may also prevent mobility decline among older people. Sensory deficits, such as poor vision and hearing may increase the risk of mobility decline. Consequently, rehabilitation of sensory functions may prevent falls and decline in mobility. To promote mobility, it is not enough to target only individuals because environmental barriers to mobility may also accelerate mobility decline among older people. Communities need to promote the accessibility of physical environments while also trying to minimize negative or stereotypic attitudes toward the physical activity of older people.
The aim was to study the levels and background factors of maximal isometric strength in older adults, as well as the association of strength with mobility. 75-year-old men and women were studied in three Nordic localities (Glostrup, Denmark; Gothenburg, Sweden; and Jyväskylä, Finland) to compare strength levels and anthropometric characteristics between populations. Socio-economic status, health and everyday physical activity as background factors of maximal strength were then studied among the 75-year-old residents of Jyväskylä. The association between life-long physical exercise, educational background and work history with strength were investigated in specially selected groups of women aged 50-60 years and 66-85 years. Altogether, 1113 individuals took part in the maximal isometric strength tests. Maximal isometric strength of hand grip, elbow flexion, knee extension, trunk flexion and extension were measured with the aid of specially constructed dynamometers. Significant differences in the strength were observed between the 75-year-olds in Glostrup, Gothenburg and Jyvaskyla partly owing to differences in basic anthropometric characteristics. Poorer values in the state-of-health indicators correlated with lower strength and greater amount of everyday physical activity with better strength. Women with life-long history of physical exercise exhibited greater force values than their sedentary controls. Among the 50-60-year-old women a university level educational background was connected with greater muscle strength, whereas among the older persons education or former occupation were not associated with strength. Greater strength was connected with better locomotor abilities.
For this population-based study, includes data of 1021 participants aged 75, 80 or 85 years living in central Finland, who have been recruited by drawing personal details from the Finnish population register. Participants were interviewed on active aging, wellbeing, disability, environmental and social support, mobility, health behavior, and health literacy. Physical activity and heart rate were monitored for up to 7 days with wearable sensors. Functional tests include hearing, vision, muscle strength, reaction time, exercise tolerance, mobility, and cognitive performance. Clinical examination by a nurse and physician includes an electrocardiogram, tests of blood pressure, orthostatic regulation, arterial stiffness, and lung function, as well as a review of chronic and acute conditions and prescribed medications. C-reactive protein, small blood count, cholesterol and vitamin D were analyzed from blood samples. Cohort effects can be studied by comparing test results of physical and cognitive functioning with results of a cohort examined in 1989-90. Follow-up data on active ageing, physical activity, life-space mobility, health literacy and depressive mood were collected during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in May-June 2020. Second follow-up was collected among 700 people in 2021-2022.
This chapter highlights research on the concepts of life-space mobility and active ageing. With age, the life-space of older people becomes more restricted and they spend more and more time in or around their home, a situation that increases the risk of social isolation, physical inactivity, and poor quality of life. Optimal mobility is the result of a good balance between the environmental demands and affordances, on the one hand, and the personal resources and capacity of the individual, on the other hand. This chapter describes a new tool developed by the authors and their colleagues to assess active ageing at the level of the individual, rather than at the policy level. This chapter discusses intervention strategies that improved opportunities for participation and well-being of older people.
Lihasvoimien heikentymiseen liittyvät kävely- ja tasapaino-ongelmat ovat usein esteenä vanhuksen kotona selviytymiselle. Voimaharjoitteluun perustuvalla kuntoutuksella on mahdollista lisätä hyvinkin iäkkäiden, toimintakyvyltään heikentyneiden henkilöiden lihasvoimaa ja näin parantaa toimintakykyä. Joensuun terveyskeskuksessa on vuodesta 1995 alkaen ollut iäkkäille tarkoitettuja kuntosaliryhmiä. Harjoittelun on todettu kohentavan lihasvoimaa, kävelynopeutta, tasapainoa sekä mielialaa. Mikäli vanhus palaa entiseen liikkumattomaan elämäntapaansa, harjoitusvaikutukset häviävät muutamassa kuukaudessa. On tärkeää tarjota mahdollisuus kunnosta huolehtimiseen myös kuntoutusjakson jälkeen.