The effect of a Frankel training course on the coordination and balance of older men

Abstract Introduction: Coordination and balance is an indicator to determine the degree of independence of the elderly in performing daily activities. Method: In this quasi-experimental study, with a pre-test-post-test design, 30 elderly men referred to Arak nursing home with a mean age (68.03 ± 6.05 years), weight (62.20 ± 9.50 kg) height (163.77 ± 6.93 cm) was available as a sample and randomly divided into experimental and control groups of 15 people. The training group practiced in Frankel training program for 8 weeks and 3 sessions per week for 30 minutes. Pre-test was performed before training and post-test after 8 weeks of training and the results of both groups were compared. Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to ensure the normality of the data and paired t-test and independent t-test were used to analyze the findings within the group and between groups, respectively. Significance level was considered less than 0.05 Findings: The results of the present study showed that 8 weeks of Frankel training had a significant effect on coordination, static, dynamic balance and functional dynamic balance in the post-test compared to the pre-test of the experimental group (P = 0.001). Frankel exercises had a significant effect on coordination (p = 0.042), static balance (P = 0.02), dynamic balance (P = 0.04) and dynamic functional balance (p = 0.001) in the post-test of the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: It seems that doing Frankel exercises can be suggested as a good training method to improve coordination, static and dynamic balance and improve dynamic functional balance in older men. Therefore, the results of this study introduce a new method for rehabilitation of the elderly.