COVID-19 and social isolation: the consequences of not exercising for older adults' health

Abstract COVID-19 pandemic has required social isolation to prevent the virus from spreading. Initially, the elderly were the most affected by the novel coronavirus. However, the virus spread out worldwide, affecting all age groups. The elderly are commonly affected by several chronic diseases, and as a consequence of social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the community-based exercise programs, which usually provide health and well-being to the elderly, have stopped their activities to avoid the virus to spread out; so, the elderly kept taking medicines but stopped exercising, which must impair their health and increase demand from the public health system. In this sense, the physical education professional is essential to providing safe approaches to the elderly who are not able to enroll in community-based exercise programs but need to exercise to improve their health. This article aims to discuss the consequences of not exercising in older adults' health during the social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic; still, we intend to present adjunct strategies to allow the elderly to exercise even socially isolated.

Treino de equilíbrio em pessoas com doença de Parkinson com uso de realidade virtual / Balance training in individuals with Parkinson disease with virtual reality use

Introdução: A doença de Parkinson é uma doença neurológica, crônica e progressiva causada pela degeneração de células situadas na região do mesencefálo, conhecida como substância negra. Objetivo: Analisar o desempenho no equilíbrio de indivíduos com Doença de Parkinson após uma sessão de realidade virtual. Material e métodos: Os indivíduos foram avaliados inicialmente pela Escala de Equilíbrio de Berg, Timed Up and Go, Escala Unificada de Avaliação da Doença de Parkinson (UPDRS) e Escala de Avaliação Modificada da Doença de Parkinson Hoenh Yahr. Depois, em outros três encontros, o equilíbrio dos voluntários foi avaliado pela posturografia antes e após 25 minutos de intervenção com realidade virtual, por meio de três jogos, em cada encontro foi utilizado um jogo diferente. A amostra foi considerada não normal. As análises estatísticas foram realizadas através do teste de Wilcoxon para analisar os dados antes e após a intervenção e o teste de Friedman para verificar se algum jogo foi melhor que outro. Resultados: Observou-se significância estatística na condição com olhos fechados e pés juntos na variável amplitude médio-lateral (p = 0,043). Conclusão: Ocorreu uma discreta melhora no equilíbrio em indivíduos com Doença de Parkinson após a realização da realidade virtual. (AU)

Introduction: Parkinson's disease is a neurological, chronic and progressive disease caused by the degeneration of cells located in the mesencephalon region, known as substantia negra. Objective: To analyze the balance performance of individuals with Parkinson's disease after a Virtual Reality session. Material and methods: Subjects were initially assessed by the Berg Balance Scale, Timed Up and Go, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and Parkinson's Disease Modified Rating Scale Hoenh Yahr. Then, in three other sesssions, the balance of the volunteers was evaluated by posturography before and after 25 minutes of intervention with Virtual Reality, through three games, different in each session. The sample was considered not normal. Statistical analyzes were performed using the Wilcoxon's test to analyze the data before and after the intervention and the Friedman's test to verify that some games were better than others. Results: Statistical significance was observed in the condition with closed eyes and joined feet in the variable medial-lateral amplitude (p = 0.043). Conclusion: We observed a slight improvement in the balance in individuals with Parkinson's disease after Virtual Reality. (AU)