“If somebody had told me I’d feel like I do now, I wouldn’t have believed them…” older adults’ experiences of the BELL trial: a qualitative study

Review written by Dr Mariana Wingood info

Key Points

  1. According to the older adult participants, the Ballistic Exercise of the Lower Limb (BELL) trial, has multiple physical and psychological benefits.
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BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE

Inadequate physical activity among older adults increases the risk of disability, morbidity, and mortality, resulting in significant burden to patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems (1). Therefore, it is essential that physical therapists empower older adults to meet the recommended level of physical activity, including 150 minutes of weekly aerobic activity, 2/week strengthening, and weekly balance activities (2). One part of empowering them is providing them with appropriately dosed physical activity programs, such as incorporated within the BELL pragmatic-controlled trial, a group-based hardstyle kettlebell training program. However, little is known about older adults’ perception of completing kettlebell exercises.

The objective of this study was to explore if participation was sufficiently high and positive to warrant a recommendation that group-based kettlebell training initiatives be used to promote healthy aging in the community.

Inadequate physical activity among older adults increases the risk of disability, morbidity, and mortality, resulting in significant burden to patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems.
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This study highlights the importance of adequately dosing physical activity for older adults and not allowing ageism to interfere with proper dosing.

METHODS

Participants: 28 inadequately active older adults (ages 59-79 years) who completed 12-week moderate-to-high intensity hardstyle kettlebell training.

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