Effectiveness of Olympic Combat Sports on Balance, Fall Risk or Falls in Older Adults: A Systematic Review

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the available body of published peer-reviewed articles related to the effects of Olympic combat sports (OCS), compared with active/passive controls, on balance, fall risk, or falls in older adults. The TESTEX and GRADE scales assessed the methodological quality and certainty of the evidence. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (code: CRD42020204034). From 1496 records, eight studies were included, involving 322 older adults (64% female; mean age = 71.1 years). The TESTEX scale revealed all studies with a score ≥ 60% (moderate-high quality). The GRADE scale indicated all studies with at least some concerns, up to a high risk of bias (i.e., was rated very low). Meta-analyses were planned, although the reduced number of studies precluded its incorporation in the final manuscript. Only two from six studies that assessed balance found improvements after OCS compared to controls. No differences were found between OCS vs. control groups for fall risk or falls. The available evidence does not allow a definitive recommendation for or against OCS interventions as an effective strategy to improve balance and reduce the fall risk or falls in older adults. Therefore, more high-quality studies are required to draw definitive conclusions.

Effectiveness of Adapted Taekwondo, Multi-Component Training and Walking Exercise on Health Status in Independent Older Women: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (TKD & Aging Project)

“…Following the above, proposing alternative physical activity strategies such as TKD programs for older people, especially for Chilean older women who have high rates of a sedentary lifestyle and overweight/obesity [ 18 , 19 ], can be a viable alternative for at least four reasons: (i) little space is required, which is consistent with the characteristics of Family Health Centers (in Spanish, CESFAM) and Community centers that host physical activity governmental workshops in Chile [ 22 ]; (ii) it requires tiny implementation because a large part of the activities are developed individually and in pairs [ 8 , 14 ]; (iii) low costs required to carry out this type of intervention, which would allow its use in a large population of older people [ 8 ]; and (iv) the variety of technical foundations that allow the use of innumerable combinations of movements, a fact that could generate greater motivation and adherence to training [ 8 , 14 ].…”

“…In the same context, physical activity interventions for older people based on Olympic combat sports have reported a mean adherence greater than 80% [ 8 , 13 , 14 ], with similar physical, physiological, and psychoemotional outcomes to other physical activity intervention strategies such as those mentioned above (resistance training, multi-component training, and walking exercise). Specifically, interventions with adapted taekwondo in older people have reported a significant increase in muscle strength of the lower [ 9 , 15 ] and upper limbs [ 15 ], cardiorespiratory fitness [ 9 ], flexibility [ 9 ], agility and dynamic balance [ 9 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], as well as significant improvements in the multidirectional reach test and a significant decrease in the gait stability ratio [ 17 ].…”

“…Based on previous studies [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ] we hypothesized that: (i) adapted taekwondo produces significantly greater effects on cognitive status, brain activity, health-related quality of life, and postural balance than a multi-component training and walking exercise, and; (ii) older women who participate in the adapted taekwondo program have more favorable inter-individual responses (higher percentage of responders) in cognitive status, brain activity, health-related quality of life and postural balance compared to women who participate in a multi-component training and walking exercise.…”

Factors Associated with Poor Health-Related Quality of Life in Physically Active Older People

“…Regular physical activity practice produces various benefits in older people [ 1 , 2 ], among others, a significant reduction of body weight, fat mass, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist to height ratio (WHR) [ 3 ], and lower fall risk [ 4 , 5 ]. In addition, being physically active contributes to a significant increase in muscle mass and strength, flexibility, cardiorespiratory fitness, agility, dynamic balance [ 3 , 6 , 7 ], improved perceived quality of life [ 6 ], and better cognitive function [ 8 ].…”

Health-Related Physical Fitness as a Risk Factor for Falls in Elderly People Living in the Community: A Prospective Study in China

“…Activity limitation, altered consciousness, health condition, and environmental hazards are the most consistently reported risk factors for falls ( 5 , 6 ). For the community-dwelling elderly, management recommendations of falls are increasingly emphasizing physical fitness as an important treatment target ( 7 , 8 ).…”