Objectives: The objective of this article is to review the literature regarding the effectiveness and safety of Nordic walking (NW) in therapeutic rehabilitation in patients of an advanced age.
Methods: Randomized studies comparing NW with different patterns of long-lasting physical rehabilitation in older adults (average age 65 years) were selected for the review. Studies were identified through a Medline database search covering the last 21 years.
Results: Seventy-four studies on this subject were identified, 37 of them fulfilled the required criteria and 27 of these were analyzed in this review.
Discussion: Nordic walking provides a safe and effective way to enhance physical activity in the elderly. It could also serve as a method of rehabilitation that improves fitness, the performance and the exercise capacity of aged persons with diseases associated with an advanced age: cardiovascular diseases due to atherosclerosis; metabolic syndrome without diabetes; early stage Parkinson's disease; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lowering depression in women with Sjögren's Syndrome.
Keywords: Atherosclerosis; Diseases of advanced age; Elderly; Metabolic syndrome; Parkinson’s disease; Physical rehabilitation.