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According to a new study
by Vrije University, Amsterdam, the Olympic sport of judo could
help the elderly avoid bone fractures.
Around three million people
in the UK have osteoporosis. There are over 230,000 fractures
every year as a result of the condition and now judo can help
brittle-boned patients fall more safely, according to the study
published in the open access journal BMC Research Notes.
The researchers from the
Sint Maartenskliniek in Nijmegen carried out a feasibility study
using healthy volunteers to see if training to break your fall
could help people with osteoporosis. The research showed that
hip fractures could be prevented by teaching the elderly patients
the techniques of judo.
The volunteers were taught
how to make a better landing by turning a fall into a rolling
movement, bending and twisting the trunk and neck.
Dr Brenda Groen, from the
Institute for Fundamental and Clinical Human Movement Sciences
at Vrije University, Amsterdam, said: "For obvious safety
reasons, this could not be directly assessed using persons with
osteoporosis.
"Therefore, we measured
the hip impact forces during the martial arts fall exercises in
a group of young adults.
"Based on our results,
however, we believe that fall training would be safe for persons
with osteoporosis if they wear hip protectors during the training,
perform fall exercises on a thick mattress, and avoid forward
fall exercises from a standing position."
“Since martial arts techniques
reduce hip impact forces and can be learned by older persons,
martial arts fall training may prevent hip fractures among persons
with osteoporosis.”
Peterborough coach John
Dearden, 76, believes the sport can benefit all ages.
“The sport benefits everyone,
I’ve seen all ages improve their fitness and well being through
judo,” said the 4th Dan.
“Learning how to fall
is about doing it instinctively and relaxing in such situations.
“We have people in their 60’s that
do the sport, they enjoy it and it helps them to relax from the
daily grind.
“I can’t train now because
of a knee replacement but I still get a tremendous amount out
of coaching,” said Dearden, who is also a senior coach at the
Thomas Deacon Judo Club in Peterborough.
To find your nearest club
contact the British Judo Association on 01509 631670 or use the
'Find a club' tool on the BJA homepage.
Media Contact:
Mark Pickering
British Judo
(t) 01509 631674
(e) mark.pickering@britishjudo.org.uk
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