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Effects of 6 months of walking training on lower limb muscle and tendon in elderly
Author(s) -
Kubo K.,
Ishida Y.,
Suzuki S.,
Komuro T.,
Shirasawa H.,
Ishiguro N.,
Shukutani Y.,
Tsunoda N.,
Kanehisa H.,
Fukunaga T.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2007.00654.x
Subject(s) - isometric exercise , medicine , tendon , plantar flexion , muscle stiffness , muscle contraction , physical medicine and rehabilitation , anatomy , ultrasonography , lower limb , physical therapy , stiffness , surgery , ankle , materials science , composite material
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 6 months of walking training on muscle strength, muscle thickness and tendon stiffness on various parts of the lower limbs in the elderly. Subjects were assigned to training ( n =35) and control ( n =10) groups. Maximal isometric torque (MVC) and muscle thickness for knee extensors (KE), knee flexors (KF), dorsi flexors (DF) and plantar flexors (PF) were measured. Tendon stiffness for KE and PF was measured using ultrasonography while subjects performed isometric contraction. No significant changes occurred in any measured variables in the control group. In the training group, muscle thickness increased significantly for KF and DF, but not for PF. For KE, significant increases of muscle thickness at the proximal and medial sides were observed, although mean relative increase of the eight measured sites for KE was not significant. MVC increased significantly for KF, DF, and PF, but not for KE. In addition, tendon stiffness for KE and PF did not change after training. These results indicated that walking training brought about increments of muscle thickness and strength in most of the lower limbs in the elderly, but it did not result in any changes in tendon stiffness.