PAHA Study: Psychological Active and Healthy Ageing
Condition: Aged
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The PAHA study is a three-arm randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT). The aim of this RCT
      is to compare the effectiveness of the WHOLE-BODY VIBRATION (WBV) with the Multi-component
      training control group and control group (CG) for psychological well being, quality of life,
      proactive attitude and happiness in female aged subjects.
    

Detailed description: 
      A recent review has moreover suggested that the content (the mental and physical demand or
      challenge, and the behavioral aspects of the activity) and the context (the social context)
      of activities are key elements when distinguishing various types. Social activity affects
      wellbeing or survival by reducing the risks of social isolation and by supplying emotional
      intimacy, socio-emotional support, reinforcement for one's self-concept and social roles, and
      the sense of being valued. On the other hand, productive activity may influence health and
      wellbeing through satisfaction with outcomes, economic gains, mental stimulation, comforting
      personal routines, sense of purpose, and increased self-efficacy or self-esteem. There are
      significant relationships between QoL and attitudes toward aging in older adults. It has been
      in fact demonstrated that a proactive attitude (i.e., exercise, planning ahead, and
      marshaling support) influences QoL outcomes (i.e., depressive symptomatology and social
      activities).

      Evidence has moreover shown that exist gender differences in engage physical activities and
      in mood state in ageing. In fact, aged women are less engaged in physical activity than men,
      probably due to menopausal transition (MT) state. Literature has suggested that women who
      experience longer MT and increased symptoms have higher stress and increased risk of
      depression , that in turn may affect their engagement in physical activities.

      Starting from current literature, we hypothesize that specific physical activity, WBV, may
      promote psychological well being and quality of life in female aged subjects. Moreover and
      therefore, we assume an improvement in proactive attitude and happiness when compared to and
      Multi-component training control group.
    

Intervention name(s): WHOLE-BODY VIBRATION TRAINING; MULTICOMPONENT TRAINING
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The vibration stimulus consisted of uniform vertical oscillations Power Plate® Next Generation (Power Plate North America, Northbrook, IL, USA). Subjects stood on the platform holding an quarter squat positions with the feet shoulder-width apart. Then, they perform ankle extensions with the following work sequence (establishing a rhythm of 100 b.p.m.: 1 b.p.m for the concentric phase; and 5 b.p.m. for the eccentric phase). After the familiarization 2-weeks, subjects trained 3 days per week for 6-months (72 sessions) using a vibrating training program that began with 5 sets and a frequency of 35 Hz per session and increasing by 11 sets and 40 Hz frequency the last month maintaining a series of parameters: vibration amplitude (4 mm) working time (60 s) and recovery time (60 s).; This training combined vertical jumps and high intensity walking. During the first month, small reactive vertical jumps (without knee and ankle flexion) were performed. After the first month, subjects performed drop jumps progressively starting at a height of 5 cm and finishing at 25 cm at the end of the programme (increases of 5 cm each month). Additionally, the sets were increased from 4x10 jumps to 6x10 each week, finishing the last week with 4x10. In this sense, the drop jumps were the same each month but the total load (imposed by height) increased progressively. Regarding the aerobic exercise, the load increased progressively along the 6 months. The intensity ranged between 50-75% of reserve heart rate, the volume ranged between 30-60 min.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Prevention