Swaythling_Mag_112-1 (2023_04_26)

Impact of Table Tennis on Seniors
by Miran Kondrič
Table tennis is not only one of
the five most popular sports in
the world; also, it is also one
of the most popular ball sports
among elderly people. It is
possible to play table tennis at
different levels of engagement
at all stages of life. Playing
table tennis is particularly suitable
due to the extremely low
chance of injury. An easy form
of recreation, it is recommended
by many doctors, physiotherapists
and others who take
care of recreational activity for
the elderly, or as an exercise
for rehabilitation after an injury.
Table tennis tables can be
found in almost all rehabilitation
centres around the world.
Always from medical staff, you
will hear that prevention is better
than cure. Unfortunately,
many people who play sport
are not aware of what good fitness
means and how to avoid
injuries the easiest way; this is
especially true for recreational
players and elderly people.
Psychological processes of
ageing appear already in the
twenties and thirties. In addition
to the decrease in the
capacity of the cardiovascular
system, there is also a decrease
in the skeletal musculature.
In the area of the locomotor
apparatus, we notice a
deterioration of mobility. For
example, only eight per cent
of 20 year olds have degenerative
joint damage, while this
percentage is as high as up to
90 per cent for 65 year olds;
most injuries in this age range
relate to the knee and pelvis.
The importance of health must
always be evaluated from the
point of view of the type of
sporting activity. Namely, medicine
and other frontier sciences
increasingly emphasise the
complex connection of playing
sport, especially from the
physiological, psychological,
sociological and pedagogical
aspects. Modern man puts
material goods more and more
in the foreground, forgetting
that money and wealth cannot
replace the quality of life he
achieves through participation
in sport. Even the excessive
commercialisation of sport
does not bring the effects for
which individuals would like
to compensate in the shortest
possible time. Additional to
other sports, table tennis is no
exception. Doubtful advertising
messages about quickly
stopping degenerative changes
are in most cases written
only on the skin of sellers, and
significantly less so on the
skin of consumers or recreational
users.
In its competitive form, table
tennis places high physiological
and psychological
demands on players, as a
recreational sport, it can be relaxing
and interesting even in
later years. The small playing
surface of table tennis does
not require great physical effort
from the elderly, as is the
case, for example, with other
sports games with rackets.
However, even in activities that
harm the locomotor apparatus
(competitive or elite level), table
tennis does not have a degenerative
effect on the joints
and spine. Practically nowhere
in the medical reports do we
find that doctors forbid playing
table tennis on a recreational
level. Even more, table tennis
tables can be found in most
rehabilitation centres worldwide;
with a slightly larger ball
(40 mm), the International Table
Tennis Federation has also
ensured better control of the
table tennis game at all levels
of play. A slower ball allows a
greater number of strokes to
be exchanged as well as better
control. In some countries,
you can find also practise with
“big ball”; in Japan there are
44mm ball tournaments.
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