Abstract
This study investigates the effects of differences in water level when walking on underwater treadmills on the cardiorespiratory responses of 14 healthy elderly female subjects (mean age: 62.9 years old), by comparing this with walking on conventional treadmills.
The study was conducted by randomly having the same subjects engage in walking exercise on underwater treadmills at 2.5 km/h for 10 minutes each with the water (temperature 33℃) level set at both umbilicus height (umbilicus group), and processus xiphoideus height (xiphoideus group), and on coventional treadmills (conventional group).
The results showed that all three groups had a heart rate of 60% of the maximum heart rate, and the rate of perceived exersion of 11 points, with no significant difference between the three groups. Oxygen uptake in the xiphoideus group was significantly lower than that of the conventional or the umbilicus group (p<0.05).
In comparing blood pressure prior to and following the experiment, it was found that the xiphoideus group was significantly higher in the contraction stage (p<0.05).
It was found that because underwater treadmill walking by elderly people with the water level set at xiphoideus height had the effect of increasing energy efficiency, exercise intensity was light. Additionally, it is thought that it is desirable for exercise intensity settings to be decided according to oxygen uptake rather than heart rate.
