Egger F, Ditscheid A, Schwarz M, Meyer T. Physical Demands of Walking Football in Patients With Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Diseases.
Clin J Sport Med 2024:00042752-990000000-00182. [PMID:
38511909 DOI:
10.1097/jsm.0000000000001218]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To compare the exercise intensity of walking football (WF) with walking (WA) and to describe specific movement characteristics of WF.
DESIGN
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING
Sports facilities Saarland University, Germany.
PATIENTS
Eighteen patients with cardiovascular risk factors CVRFs and diseases (13 men and 5 women, age: 69 ± 10 years).
INDEPENDENT VARIABLES
Patients completed a WF match and WA session of 2 x 10 min each. Video analysis was used to characterize movements during WF.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Rate of perceived exertion (RPE, Borg Scale 6-20), % maximum heart rate (HRmax), musculoskeletal pain on a visual analog scale (VAS, 1-100 mm) before and up to 72 hours after exercise, and movement patterns during WF.
RESULTS
The mean RPE during WF (12.1 ± 2.7) and WA (11.9 ± 3.0) did not differ (P = 0.63). The mean HR during WF (79 ± 12% of HRmax) was higher than during WA (71% ± 11%; P < 0.01). The HR variability coefficient of variation during WF (10.3% ± 5.8%) and WA (7.1 ± 5.5%) did not differ (P = 0.13). There was no influence of exercise mode (WF vs WA) on musculoskeletal pain perception (P = 0.96 for interaction). Injury-inciting activities such as lunges (median: 0.5 [interquartile range (IQR) 0-1.3]) and goal kicks (median: 4 [IQR: 1.8-5.3]) occurred rarely during WF.
CONCLUSIONS
Walking football might represent an alternative to WA for health prevention programs in patients with CVRF and diseases as it is characterized by a manageable cardiocirculatory strain, moderate RPE, low pain induction, and a low number of injury-inciting activities.
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