People lose muscle mass as they age but U.S. researchers say adults can fight the battle of strength and muscle loss that comes with aging.

Mark Peterson, a research fellow in the University of Michigan's Physical Activity and Exercise Intervention Research Laboratory, says adults age 50 and older who are sedentary can expect muscle loss of as much as 0.4 pounds a year.

"That only worsens as people age. But even earlier in adulthood -- the 30s, 40s and 50s -- you can begin to see declines if you do not engage in any strengthening activities," Peterson says in a statement. "No matter what age an individual is, they can experience significant strength improvement with progressive resistance exercise even into the eighth and ninth decades of life."

Progressive resistance training means the amount of weight used and the frequency and duration of training sessions are altered over time to accommodate an individual's progress, Peterson says.

The study, published in The American Journal of Medicine, finds after an average of 18-20 weeks of progressive resistance training, an adult can add 2.42 pounds of lean muscle and increase overall strength by 25 percent to 30 percent.

A good way for people to start on a resistance training program -- after getting permission from a doctor -- is to use body mass as a load for various exercises such as squats, standing up out of a chair, modified pushups and exercises such as Tai Chi, Pilates or Yoga.

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Arizona Chiropractic Orthopedics

Low Back & Pelvis Core Strength & Stability

The basic message I want to get across to patients with low back pain is about your personal responsibility to support the muscle system of the spine. Have you heard of Core Stability? If you are into Pilates, yoga or strength training you have experienced core strength training and stability training.

If you are my patient you have heard me talk about the fascia and the joints. In particular for the low back, I talk about the fascia, muscles, and joints around the  lumbar spine and sacro-iliac joints. These are part of your low back stability system. Contrary to what old rheumatologists will tell you, the sacro-iliac joints – which connect the fused section of the lower spine (the sacrum) to the pelvic/hip bones on either side – do need to move during normal daily activities such as walking and running. These bones were meant to move. On the other hand the lower lumbar vertebra were not meant to move very much. These lower lumbars usually need stability training to get them to “hold” in place better.

The motion of these joints and the surrounding fascia needs to be critcally evaluated by feel, not just by an MRI evaluation. It is both necessary and desirable that the sacro-iliac joints move, because they need to act as shock absorbers between the lower limbs and spine, and also as a way of providing proprioceptive (body positioning awareness) feedback for co-ordinated movement and control between the trunk and lower limbs.

As the sacro-iliac joint is capable of movement, that movement needs to be properly controlled, as with any of the body’s joints. Some control comes through the natural architecture of the low back and pelvis, but more is possible by using the surrounding muscle, ligament and connective tissue system (fascia) to provide compression on the joints. This is important because we can influence the effectiveness of the compression through exercise and re-training after injury.

The most effective and safest exercises to support the muscles and fascia  that help to stabilise the pelvic girdle are these:

• Gluteal Activation: Bridge

• Front Plank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Side/Lateral Plank

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you practice just these three core exercises and train every day for three weeks it will help you improve the fascia system of support.  These are the best intial exercises. From there you can progress to more advanced exercises.

 

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Arizona Chiropractic Orthopedics

Arizona Chiropractic Orthopedics
4558 N. 1st Ave, Ste. 110
Tucson, AZ  85718
520/888-2600    
FAX: 520/888-3882 
wlwdc@azchiro.net

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Muscular power and reaction time are also important components of function and injury prevention for older adults; specifically, reduced strength of ankle dorsiflexion is associated with an increased risk of falls (Skelton et al. 2002; Whipple et al. 1987). In addition, decreased reaction time is associated with increased falls and motor vehicle accidents in older adults. Power training, which is essentially strength training performed at higher velocities, is becoming increasingly popular for older adult exercise programs.  Many studies have shown that strength training exercises can increase strength and function in older adults, but few if any have examined effects of ankle power training on performance or injury prevention in older adults. In addition, few studies have directly compared elastic and isotonic resistance training programs.

Canadian researchers investigated the effects of power training with Thera-Band® exercise bands compared to machine-based resistance training for ankle dorsiflexor and plantarflexor muscles. They wanted to see if there was a difference in reaction time, movement speed, muscular strength and power after a 12 week training program. They randomly assigned 62 women over 70 years old with mobility limitations to a Thera-Band group, machine group, or control group that performed only upper body flexibility exercise. The machine group performed 8-10 repetitions of ankle dorsiflexion and plantarflexion against 80% of 1RM resistance level. The Thera-Band group performed 3 sets of 8 repetitions on dorsiflexion and plantarflexion as well. Both groups performed the concentric phase “as fast as possible” and the eccentric phase in a slow and controlled manner for 2 to 3 seconds. Both groups progressed the resistance after 2 to 3 weeks.

The women completing the power training program with Thera-Band resistance significantly improved their movement speed in a “braking task” similar to applying the brake in a car. This finding is important, according to the authors, because slower reaction and movement times are associated with increased risk of motor vehicle accident, as well as increased risk of falls and decreased functional performance. All groups (including the control group) significantly improved in strength and power.

The authors concluded, “Training with elastic bands represents a low-cost, practical form of exercise that would be considered an addition to programs designed to address mobility limitations in older adults.”  This study suggests that power training with Thera-Band elastic bands can help improve reaction time and movement speed in older adults, which may have important implications in reducing injury risk and improving functional performance.

REFERENCE: Webber SC, Porter MM. Effects of ankle power training on movement time in mobility-impaired older women. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jul;42(7):1233-40.

Stay strong, stay flexible, stay healthy!!