Effects of table tennis practice on balance and physical fitness in the elderly

Abstract

The Table Tennis game does not involve large displacements by the practitioner in the environment, a characteristic that can promote greater safety for the elderly in locomotor terms. In addition, it needs coordination, agility, speed of reaction, dynamic balance, which have been the focus of current recommendations of physical activity for the health of adults and the elderly. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of table tennis practice on physical and functional fitness in the elderly. This quasi-experimental research with a parallel and controlled design. The sample consisted of 16 elderly people, allocated 8 in the experimental group (EG) and 8 in the control group (CG). The research lasted 18 weeks, with 2 weeks of evaluation (initial and final) and 16 weeks of intervention. Physical fitness assessments were carried out using the agility and balance and functional fitness tests. In the intra-group comparison (pre-post intervention), EG showed a significant difference for the variable agility (pre: 15.6 ± 1.2 s; post: 14.7 ± 0.7 s). Also, the EG showed a reduction in Area (pre: 11.00±3.32 cm²; post:  6.52±3.06 cm²), AP Amplitude (pre: 4.92±2.77 cm; post:  3.28±0.58 cm) and ML speed (pre: 2.77±1.07 cm/s; post:  2.31±1.03 cm/s) in the Tandem posture with eyes open. Our findings highlight the importance of a Table Tennis program, administered twice a week and consisted of low to moderate intensity activities, to promote a beneficial effect on the agility and balance of physically active elderly people.