Background: The Geriatric Unit of the University of Palermo developed the “Passiata Day” model, a green exercise intervention consisting of a one-hour walk, once/week, in a city park. The purpose of this study was to assess body balance in older people who walked regularly compared to sedentary people. Methods: 106 older people (75 women and 31 men; mean age: 72.3 ± 8.2 years) without fall history were invited to participate voluntarily in this natural environment walking program. After six months, both the participants who had taken part regularly in the walk (i.e., the physical activity group (PAG; n = 72; 54 women and 18 men; mean age: 70.7 ± 7.2 years)), and who had not accepted to be included in the outdoor walking program (i.e., the sedentary group (SG; n = 34; 21 women and 13 men; mean age: 75.5 ± 9.4 years)), performed a stabilometric test with open eyes (OE) and with closed eyes (CE). Results: Our preliminary results showed significant differences between groups on the ellipse sway area both in the OE (p < 0.05) and in CE condition (p < 0.01). Moreover, we found a significant difference on sway along the frontal plane both in the OE (p < 0.05) and in the CE condition (p < 0.01), and on sway along the sagittal plane for the test with CE (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Based on our preliminary findings, we suggest that walking regularly in an outdoor setting could lead to a greater body balance in older people and could be recommended by geriatricians for preventing the risk of falls. The next step will be to investigate the effect of an experimental outdoor walking program structured in terms of intensity, frequency and volume.

中文翻译：

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在自然环境中行走作为老年科医生预防跌倒的建议：“Passiata 日”模型的初步结果

背景：巴勒莫大学老年科开发了“Passiata Day”模式，这是一种绿色运动干预，包括在城市公园步行一小时，每周一次。本研究的目的是评估经常走路的老年人与久坐不动的老年人的身体平衡。方法：106 名老年人（75 名女性和 31 名男性；平均年龄：72.3 ± 8.2 岁）被邀请自愿参加这个自然环境步行计划。六个月后，定期参加步行的参与者（即体育活动组（PAG；n = 72；54 名女性和 18 名男性；平均年龄：70.7 ± 7.2 岁））和未接受被纳入户外步行计划（即久坐组（SG；n = 34；21 名女性和 13 名男性；平均年龄：75.5 ± 9.4 岁）），用睁眼 (OE) 和闭眼 (CE) 进行稳定性测试。结果：我们的初步结果显示，在 OE (p < 0.05) 和 CE 条件 (p < 0.01) 中，椭圆摇摆区域的组之间存在显着差异。此外，我们发现在 OE (p < 0.05) 和 CE 条件下 (p < 0.01) 以及沿矢状面摇摆以进行 CE 测试 (p < 0.01) . 结论：根据我们的初步调查结果，我们建议在户外环境中定期步行可以改善老年人的身体平衡，老年病学家可以推荐它来预防跌倒的风险。下一步将是研究在强度、频率和数量方面构建的实验性户外步行计划的效果。