Influência da terapia aquática nos riscos de quedas em idosos com artrose cervical

Abstract

Falls can cause major complications to any individual, being a factor of risk for immobility, which can worsen in the elderly due to aspects of physiological aging. Especially in the presence of illnesses, such as example arthrosis in the cervical region that can generate numerous signs and symptoms, among them pain, movement limitation, as well as hearing and system deficits vestibular, compromising balance and increasing the risk of falls. Objective: to verify the influence of therapy in the aquatic environment on the risk of falls in elderly with cervical arthrosis. Method: This is an intervention study, prospective, 483 individuals were registered and evaluated, where they participated in the study a total of 203 individuals diagnosed with cervical arthrosis, assessed and diagnosed in Health Units in the region of Curitiba / Pr, through medical evaluation, directed to the aquatic physiotherapy sector of the Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná, being 180 (88.7%) female and 23 (11.3%) males aged 60 to 82 years (mean 68.6 years, standard deviation 6.2 years). Patients were submitted to the following procedures: anamnesis, otorhinolaryngological and vestibular evaluation by means of vectoelectronistamography (VENG), assessment Berg Balance Scale (BERG) pre and post therapeutic protocol of exercises in the aquatic environment with duration of 30 minutes and making a total of 20 visits, based on authors already validated. Result: Aquatic therapy promoted a significant increase in balance of the elderly, assessed using the Berg Balance Scale and vestibular evaluation through Veng, where the comparison between the initial frequency and obtained by VENG (normal or altered), showed a statistically significant difference significant (p <0.0001) when comparing the frequency obtained between the two times, showing that the proportion of normal cases at the end was significantly higher than the initial and still, significant reduction of the risk of falls (p <0.001). Conclusion: According to the results discussed in the present study, it was observed that the aquatic therapy program had a positive influence assessment to improve balance and significantly decreased the risks of falls in the analyzed population. These findings demonstrate the importance of insertion of this treatment in improving the balance of the elderly population, once that such a group can benefit from the program.