von Stengel S, Kemmler W (2018)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2018
Book Volume: 13
Pages Range: 2495-2502
DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S185018
Background: The age-related decline in muscle strength is a well documented phenomenon in human beings. Resistance-type exercise including the novel, joint-friendly, and time-efficient whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) technology decelerates this unfavorable decline. However, the issue of trainability of the neuromuscular system during different periods of life still remains, especially for WB-EMS. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the changes in maximum isokinetic leg/hip extensor strength (MIES) and maximum isokinetic leg/hip flexor strength (MIFS) after WB-EMS interventions in men in different periods of life. Our hypothesis was that although WB-EMS significantly increases lower extremity strength in all periods of adults' life, trainability decreases with age with a significantly higher increase at the age of 20-35 years compared with that at the age of 65+ years. Subjects and methods: Using an isokinetic leg press, we determined the changes in MIES and MIFS in 118 community-dwelling men aged 27-89 years after 14-16 weeks of WB-EMS interventions applying identical protocols. Men were structured in 15 year-ranged age groups starting at the age of 20-35 years and ending at the age of 80+ years. Results: Most importantly, WB-EMS-induced gains in MIES and MIFS were significant (P<0.001) in all the groups. Changes in MIFS were on average about twice as high compared with MIES (18-25% vs 9-15%). Applying one-way ANOVA, we observed a trend to lower trainability with increasing age (P=0.060) for MIES. Pairwise tests confirmed our hypothesis that the youngest subgroup differs significantly for MIES from men aged 65+ years (P=0.007). In parallel, one-way ANOVA determined a significant between-group difference (P=0.046) for MIFS; however, we did not determine a significant difference between men aged <35 years and 65+ years. Conclusion: We observed an inconsistent tendency for blunted WB-EMS-induced lower extremity strength gains in older adults. However, much more importantly, the general effectiveness of WB-EMS to significantly increase maximum hip/leg strength during the adult lifespan can be confirmed.
APA:
von Stengel, S., & Kemmler, W. (2018). Trainability of leg strength by whole-body electromyostimulation during adult lifespan: a study with male cohorts. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 13, 2495-2502. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S185018
MLA:
von Stengel, Simon, and Wolfgang Kemmler. "Trainability of leg strength by whole-body electromyostimulation during adult lifespan: a study with male cohorts." Clinical Interventions in Aging 13 (2018): 2495-2502.
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