Selective Maintenance of Motor Performance in Older Adults from Long-Lasting Sport Practice

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Selective Maintenance of Motor Performance in Older Adults from Long-Lasting Sport Practice
Language: English
Authors: Dascal, Juliana Bayeux, Teixeira, Luis Augusto
Source: Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2016 87(3):262-270.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 9
Publication Date: 2016
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Psychomotor Skills, Older Adults, Athletics, Quality of Life, Training, Skill Development, Maintenance, Racquet Sports, Exercise, Perceptual Motor Coordination, Aging (Individuals), Physical Fitness, Gerontology, Questionnaires, Statistical Analysis, Comparative Analysis, Age Differences
DOI: 10.1080/02701367.2016.1188195
ISSN: 0270-1367
Abstract: Purpose: Decline of motor performance in older individuals affects their quality of life. Understanding the contribution of sport-related training in advanced ages might help to attenuate motor performance decay as one gets older. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the extent to which long-lasting training in running or sport-specific skills during old age preserves motor performance in different motor tasks. Method: Older runners and tennis players with at least 10 years of training were assessed as were age-matched and young exercisers. Performance was evaluated for 6 motor tasks requiring different functions of sensorimotor control expected to decline with aging. Results: Analysis revealed that runners had increased aerobic fitness in comparison with the other older participants and that they presented similar performance to older exercisers in the motor tasks. Tennis players outperformed the other groups of older participants on coincident timing and simple reaction time and achieved similar performance to the young group on the timing task. Conclusions: These results suggest selective maintenance of task-specific processing through extensive practice of tennis-related motor skills in older adults.
Abstractor: As Provided
Number of References: 35
Entry Date: 2016
Accession Number: EJ1111354
Database: ERIC
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Abstract:Purpose: Decline of motor performance in older individuals affects their quality of life. Understanding the contribution of sport-related training in advanced ages might help to attenuate motor performance decay as one gets older. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the extent to which long-lasting training in running or sport-specific skills during old age preserves motor performance in different motor tasks. Method: Older runners and tennis players with at least 10 years of training were assessed as were age-matched and young exercisers. Performance was evaluated for 6 motor tasks requiring different functions of sensorimotor control expected to decline with aging. Results: Analysis revealed that runners had increased aerobic fitness in comparison with the other older participants and that they presented similar performance to older exercisers in the motor tasks. Tennis players outperformed the other groups of older participants on coincident timing and simple reaction time and achieved similar performance to the young group on the timing task. Conclusions: These results suggest selective maintenance of task-specific processing through extensive practice of tennis-related motor skills in older adults.
ISSN:0270-1367
DOI:10.1080/02701367.2016.1188195