Effects on older adult Women's precision, strength and flexibility from resistance training and handicrafts practice

Introduction

As individuals age, they experience a gradual decline in strength, flexibility, and precision control. While resistance training has shown positive effects on aging, little is known about how beneficial handicrafts could be in effectively promoting motor improvements in aging. This study aimed to compare manual precision, manual grip strength, and upper limb flexibility among three groups of older adult women: (a) regular practitioners of resistance training, (b) regular practitioners of handicrafts, and (c) insufficiently active participants who did not engage in either regular resistance training or handicraft practice.

Methods

A total of 30 women (mean age = 67.86, SD = 7.01) were divided equally into the three groups (n = 10 per group). The participants were asked to perform a manual manipulative precision test, a manual grip strength test, and an upper limb flexibility test.

Results

The participants in the resistance training group exhibited superior precision and strength compared to those in the handicraft group, as well as better precision, strength, and flexibility compared to the control group participants. The handicraft group demonstrated better precision and upper limb flexibility compared to the control group.

Conclusion

Therefore, while resistance training was particularly beneficial for improving these motor skills, engaging in handicrafts also proved to be an effective means of maintaining and/or enhancing certain important motor abilities.