PHYSICAL EXERCISES IN BALANCING AS A TYPE OF HEALTH-ORIENTED MOTOR ACTIVITY FOR THE ELDERLY

Abstract

It has been shown that in old age the physical and mental state of the human body begins to deteriorate rapidly. Old diseases exacerbate and new ones are acquired, signs of psycho-emotional disorders appear as well. In old age, people quite often lose their balance and, as a result, injure themselves. All of the above ultimately affects the indicators of working capacity and quality of life of the elderly. Motor activity has a significant impact on the physical condition and health. Among the variety of means of motor activity, a special role is assigned to balancing exercises. Such exercises improve the ability to maintain balance, which is an important component of coordination of movements. Systematic performance of exercises influences the functioning of the central nervous system, improves the condition of the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the body, develops resistance to psycho-emotional disorders. It has been established that balancing exercises contribute to active irritation of the vestibular analyzer, which is responsible for the position of the human body both during movement and at rest. The need to maintain balance forces individual muscles to quickly tense and relax in a timely manner. Balancing exercises for the elderly can be quite simple (changing the position of the head with open and closed eyes) or more complex ones. As a general rule, the use of balancing exercises in motor activity classes affects the coordination of movements, as well as the psycho-emotional state of the body. At the same time, the physical condition of the elderly after the corresponding classes is maintained at an optimal level. It has been found out that the most effective are exercises that are associated with maintaining balance on an unstable narrow support that fluctuates. Despite that, studies have shown that for the elderly, a comprehensive approach is more preferable, using as many simple exercises as possible related to changing the position of the head and the trajectory of movements.