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Nordic walking in the second half of life

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Abstract

Objectives

The objective of this article is to review the literature regarding the effectiveness and safety of Nordic walking (NW) in therapeutic rehabilitation in patients of an advanced age.

Methods

Randomized studies comparing NW with different patterns of long-lasting physical rehabilitation in older adults (average age 65 years) were selected for the review. Studies were identified through a Medline database search covering the last 21 years.

Results

Seventy-four studies on this subject were identified, 37 of them fulfilled the required criteria and 27 of these were analyzed in this review.

Discussion

Nordic walking provides a safe and effective way to enhance physical activity in the elderly. It could also serve as a method of rehabilitation that improves fitness, the performance and the exercise capacity of aged persons with diseases associated with an advanced age: cardiovascular diseases due to atherosclerosis; metabolic syndrome without diabetes; early stage Parkinson’s disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lowering depression in women with Sjögren’s Syndrome.

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Acknowledgments

This publication is part of Project “WroVasc—Integrated Cardiovascular Centre”, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, within the Innovative Economy Operational Program, 2007–2013 realized in the Regional Specialist Hospital, Research and Development Center in Wroclaw.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. WroVasc-Integrated Medical Cardio-Vascular Centre, Regional Specialist Hospital in Wroclaw, Research and Development Centre, H. Kaminski 73a Street, 51-124, Wroclaw, Poland

    Katarzyna Skórkowska-Telichowska, Katarzyna Kropielnicka, Katarzyna Bulińska, Urszula Pilch, Marek Woźniewski & Andrzej Szuba

  2. Department of Rehabilitation, School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, I.J. Paderewski 35 Street, 51-612, Wroclaw, Poland

    Katarzyna Kropielnicka, Katarzyna Bulińska, Urszula Pilch, Marek Woźniewski & Ryszard Jasiński

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, 4th Military Hospital, R. Weigla 5 Street, 50-981, Wroclaw, Poland

    Katarzyna Skórkowska-Telichowska & Andrzej Szuba

  4. Division of Angiology, Wroclaw Medical University, K. Bartla 5 Street, 51-618, Wroclaw, Poland

    Katarzyna Skórkowska-Telichowska & Andrzej Szuba

Authors
  1. Katarzyna Skórkowska-Telichowska
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  2. Katarzyna Kropielnicka
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  3. Katarzyna Bulińska
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  4. Urszula Pilch
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  5. Marek Woźniewski
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  6. Andrzej Szuba
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  7. Ryszard Jasiński
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katarzyna Skórkowska-Telichowska.

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Conflict of interest

None declared.

Statement of human and animal rights

Ethics Committee approval was obtained from the local bioethics committee (Bioethics Committee, Wroclaw Medical University, no. 130/2008 KB).

Informed consent

All the patients were provided with written information on the purpose and design of the study.

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Skórkowska-Telichowska, K., Kropielnicka, K., Bulińska, K. et al. Nordic walking in the second half of life. Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 1035–1046 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0531-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-016-0531-8

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