Journal Information
Vol. 43. Issue 157.
Pages 14-23 (January 2008)
Vol. 43. Issue 157.
Pages 14-23 (January 2008)
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Perceived benefits of therapeutic physical activity in a group of postmenopausal women
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Robinson Ramírez Véleza, Carlos Alejandro López Albanb, Héctor Reynaldo Triana Reinac, Mónica Idarragac, Florencia Giraldo Gensinic
a Fundación Universitaria María Cano, Extensión Cali. Especialista en Rehabilitación Cardíaca y Pulmonar, Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario. Bogotá. Doctorando en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad del Valle. Cali. Valle. Colombia.
b Universidad del Cauca. Universidad Federal del Río Grande do Sul. Brasil. Director del Centro para la Investigación en Salud y Rendimiento Humano ZOE Calidad de vida. Cali. Colombia.
c Universidad del Valle. Escuela Nacional del Deporte. Cali. Colombia.
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Background: Exercise and physical activity provide a wide range of health benefits in postmenopausal women, although the impact of sustained physical activity on psychosocial well being is unclear. Objective: To describe the benefits of a program of therapeutic activity in water perceived by postmenopausal women. Design: Quasi-experimental analytic study. Participants and methods: We studied 50 women in the metropolitan area of the city of Santiago de Cali (Colombia) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Primary measurements: Anthropometric variables (age, weight, size, body mass index) were collected. The Short-form 36 (SF-36) health questionnaire was administered to measure health-related quality of life in pre- and postintervention personal interviews. Measures of central tendency and dispersion of the scores were calculated by age groups. Results: All domains of the SF-36 health questionnaire were modified after the study. The perceived benefits were grouped in 8 main categories. The highest scores reported by the women were found in bodily pain (23%), role-physical (22%) and vitality (21%), while role-emotional and general health received scores of 18% and 16%, respectively. The lowest scores were found in social function (14%) and physical function (13%). Mental health showed negative variation (3%; p ≤ 0.05). Conclusions: All domains of self-perceived health were modified by therapeutic physical activity in women aged more than 55 years old. These results demonstrate the advantages of exercise in this group of women.