UPPER AND LOWER LIMBS STRENGTH CHANGES IN WOMEN OVER 60 YEARS DUE TO PHYSICAL DISTANCING DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed severe movement restrictions and people over 60 years of age were heavily impacted. The aim of this study was to verify the effect of movement restrictions on the strength of upper limbs (fMMSS) and lower limbs (fMMII) of active elderly women from a public park in Porto Alegre, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with access to the participants' database and online assessments. The fMMSS (dominant arm elbow flexion and extension) and fMMII (sit and stand test) tests were performed remotely in October 2020. The study included 53 elderly women (69.27 years ± 6.95; 60-85). The data, as they did not meet the normality criteria, were analyzed using non-parametric tests. The result of the fMMSS test in 2020 (MED=18; 7-30) was statistically lower when compared to the test performed in December 2019 (MED=22; 14-33). In contrast, the result of the fMMII test in 2020 (MED=15; 4-30) showed no statistically significant change compared to 2019 (MED=15; 10-21). The study participants reported that despite having decreased the weekly volume of physical exercise during the period investigated, they reported an increase in the intensity of these exercises, which, in turn, presented a significant correlation with better performance in the fMMSS test. It is suggested that in the future, virtual distance training models be investigated as a way to maintain the strength levels of the elderly population.