A Tempo Livre in partnership with the ICVS – School of Medicine of the University of Minho, it will provide participants of the Vida Feliz program with access to the Win Track digital platform, which will be housed in the facilities of the Sports Medicine Center, located on the Gémeos Castro Athletics Track.
This technological resource will allow ICVS researchers to measure and collect data on balance, gait speed, stride length and other relevant aspects of the program participants' physical condition and level of dexterity.
Falls are responsible for many disabling injuries and even accidental deaths in the elderly, and it is important to assess the physical health status of the Vida Feliz participants, which will allow the medical coordinators to guide the joint work with the team of physical activity teachers, in a logic preventive and oriented towards the improvement of some capacities adjacent to this problematic incident in the more advanced age groups.
In addition to the platform, the ICVS will deploy a team of professionals to assess other physical parameters of the participants.
ICVS is the scientific partner of the Vida Feliz program, an active aging project developed by Tempo Livre with the support of the Municipality of Guimarães, aimed at the population of Guimarães aged 55 years or over.
The monitoring and scientific validation of the work carried out by the team of physical activity teachers is an important dimension in the partnership and allows, among others, to assess the impact of the implementation of activities on the quality of life of the participants.
The Vida Feliz program was launched in 2018, having experienced exponential growth until 2020, having at that time more than 1200 participants. The pandemic came to interrupt this growth trajectory, with the project currently having 200 participants, in a gradual process of recovery.
