چكيده لاتين
Introduction and Objective: Aging is a gradual and irreversible pathological physiological process. This process manifests itself through reduced tissue and cell function and significantly increased risk of age-related diseases. Epidemiological studies show that 11% of the worldʹs population is over 60 years old. It is predicted that this will increase to 22% by 2050. Falling is one of the most common and serious issues that contributes to disability in elderly individuals. One of the main causes of falls in the elderly is balance disorders, which often lead to injury, disabling conditions, loss of independence, and reduced quality of life. The purpose of this study was to compare the immediate effects of Russian massage and lower limb Thai massage on balance, deep sensation, range of motion, and flexibility in elderly women.
Materials and Methods: This research was semi-experimental in nature and had a pre-test and post-test design, conducted with the participation of two experimental groups. Among elderly female patients at the Najafabad Corrective Exercise Center, 30 participants were selected based on entry criteria using convenient and targeted sampling methods and randomly divided into two groups of 15 individuals each receiving Russian massage (age 62.40 ± 1.63, height 159.40 ± 3.83, weight 76.53 ± 9.13) and Thai massage (age 61.80 ± 1.20, height 153.40 ± 26.07, weight 76.07 ± 15.48). Both groups received a 20-minute intervention under massage (Russian and Thai massage). Static balance, dynamic balance, proprioception, range of motion, and flexibility were measured before and after the intervention using, functional reach test, timed up and go test, hand goniometer, modified sit and reach. To analyze the data, ANOVA was used for repeated measures at a significant level of P<0.05.
Results: The findings of the research showed that there was a significant improvement in all variables of static balance, dynamic balance, Proprioception, range of motion, and flexibility in both groups in the post-test compared to the pre-test. Additionally, between the two groups, there was a significant difference in the performance of functional reach and Modified sit and reach tests, with the Thai massage group performing better.
Discussion and Conclusion: Considering the results of the research, it appears that both types of massage lead to improved performance in static and dynamic balance, Proprioception, range of motion, and flexibility in elderly women. Given the significant improvement of Thai massage compared to Russian massage in the two static balance and flexibility tests, it is suggested that both types of massage, especially Thai massage, should be used to improve the motor performance of the elderly.
