Therapeutic physical exercises to improve joint mobility in older adults with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Therapeutic physical exercises for older adults should be tailored to their characteristics, with specific treatment tailored to their needs and abilities, and able to meet individual needs. Therefore, this research aimed to develop therapeutic physical exercises to improve joint mobility in older adults (60-65 years) with rheumatoid arthritis at the School for Physical Education Teachers (EPEF) in Cienfuegos. The methodology employed was a mixed approach, with a non-experimental, longitudinal panel design. Various methods were used, such as historical-logical, analytical-synthetic, inductive-deductive, structured observation, measurement, and specialist judgment. Another method employed was mathematical statistics to collect data on joint mobility behavior. The population consisted of eight older adults aged 60-65 years and 19 specialists, chosen using selection criteria. The results showed that the older adults in the study presented deficiencies in joint mobility, the most affected joints being: shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles. This allowed for the development of therapeutic physical exercises taking into account the deficiencies found, which were evaluated by specialists as very adequate and quite adequate.

Keywords: joint mobility, therapeutic physical exercises