Both groups were able to minimize lumbopelvic motion and recruited their abdominal muscles to similar overall amplitudes, with the IO muscle activated to higher amplitudes early in the movement task. The older adult group demonstrated a distinctive drop in abdominal activity during the leg-lowering phase of the exercise and less symmetry among muscle sites.

This article examines home sewing as both gendered labor and pleasurable art while addressing multiple understandings of women's domestic work. As mass-produced clothing became accessible and desirable and more women worked outside the home, fewer women sewed out of necessity. Nevertheless, sewing continued to resonate with understandings of feminine work, economic need, gender roles, cultural traditions, and artistic pleasure. Depending on the circumstances, dressmaking could be a chore or a choice, a survival skill or a means of personal expression. As social and economic circumstances shifted, home sewing moved beyond its functional role to become a way to articulate personal tastes and challenge assumptions about femininity, family, race, and class.

Background: As the older adult population increases, the potential functional and clinical burden of trunk muscle dysfunction may be significant. An evaluation of risk factors including the impact of the trunk muscles in terms of their temporal firing patterns, amplitudes of activation, and contribution to spinal stability is required. Therefore, the specific purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of measuring the activation of trunk muscles in healthy older adults during specific leg exercises with trunk stabilization.

Country line dancing (CLD) is a popular activity among older women. The American College of Sports Medicine and Health Canada recommend that aerobic exercise be performed for 20–60 min, 3–5 times/week, at an intensity of 65–90% of maximal heart rate (HR). The study measured responses to a bout of CLD in older women to determine whether it might be considered an aerobic activity for this population. Twenty healthy older women performed a 12-min walk lest (12WT) and a 1-hr CLD class. Heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and breathlessness (RPB) were compared between the 12WT and a representative 12-min period of the CLD class. Mean HR during CLD and the 12WT were not different. Mean RPE and RPB values were also similar between CLD and 12WT. The results suggest that CLD meets the guidelines for aerobic activity and can be considered an acceptable form of aerobic exercise for older women.

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