Abstract
Purpose
Gait speed is associated with survival in older adults and it was suggested that an elevated energy cost of walking (Cw) is an important determinant of gait speed reduction. Thus far, little is known about the factors that contribute to a lower Cw but it was shown that lower body strength training could reduce the Cw. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between lower body strength and the Cw in a cohort of healthy older adults.
Methods
A total of 48 participants were included in this study (70.7 ± 5.4 years). After a geriatric and a neuropsychological assessment, participants underwent a fitness testing protocol which included a maximal oxygen uptake test, assessment of the Cw at 4 km h−1 on a treadmill, an isokinetic maximal strength test for the ankle, knee and hip joints and a body composition assessment. Relationships between strength variables and the Cw were assessed with partial correlations and linear regression analyses.
Results
Hip extensors and hip flexors peak torque was significantly correlated with the Cw (r = −0.36 and −0.32, respectively; p < 0.05). A tendency towards significance was identified for the ankle plantar flexors (r = −0.25, p = 0.09). Hip extensors peak torque was the only significant neuromuscular parameter included in the linear regression analysis (p < 0.05).
Conclusion
These results show that hip extensors are an important muscle group with regards to the Cw measured on a treadmill in this cohort of healthy older adults.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- ICC:
-
Intraclass correlation coefficient
- Cw:
-
Energy cost of walking
- MMSE:
-
Mini Mental State Examination
- RER:
-
Respiratory Exchange Ratio
- RFD:
-
Rate of Force Development
- VO2 peak:
-
Peak oxygen uptake
References
Aagaard P, Andersen JL (2010) Effects of strength training on endurance capacity in top-level endurance athletes. Scand J Med Sci Sports 20(Suppl 2):39–47. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2010.01197.x
Aagaard P, Simonsen EB, Andersen JL, Magnusson P, Dyhre-Poulsen P (2002) Increased rate of force development and neural drive of human skeletal muscle following resistance training. J Appl Physiol 93:1318–1326. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00283.2002
Aagaard P, Magnusson PS, Larsson B, Kjaer M, Krustrup P (2007) Mechanical muscle function, morphology, and fiber type in lifelong trained elderly. Med Sci Sports Exerc 39:1989–1996. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31814fb402
Abernethy P, Wilson G, Logan P (1995) Strength and power assessment. Issues Controv Chall Sports Med 19:401–417
Anderson DE, Madigan ML (2014) Healthy older adults have insufficient hip range of motion and plantar flexor strength to walk like healthy young adults. J Biomech 47:1104–1109. doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2013.12.024
Beijersbergen CM, Granacher U, Vandervoort AA, DeVita P, Hortobagyi T (2013) The biomechanical mechanism of how strength and power training improves walking speed in old adults remains unknown. Ageing Res Rev 12:618–627. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2013.03.001
Berryman N, Gayda M, Nigam A, Juneau M, Bherer L, Bosquet L (2012) Comparison of the metabolic energy cost of overground and treadmill walking in older adults. Eur J Appl Physiol 112:1613–1620. doi:10.1007/s00421-011-2102-1
Berryman N et al (2013) Executive functions, physical fitness and mobility in well-functioning older adults. Exp Gerontol 48:1402–1409. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2013.08.017
Berryman N et al (2014) Multiple roads lead to Rome: combined high-intensity aerobic and strength training vs. gross motor activities leads to equivalent improvement in executive functions in a cohort of healthy older adults. Age (Dordr) 36:9710. doi:10.1007/s11357-014-9710-8
Clark DJ, Manini TM, Fielding RA, Patten C (2013) Neuromuscular determinants of maximum walking speed in well-functioning older adults. Exp Gerontol 48:358–363. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2013.01.010
Cohen J (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences, 2nd edn. L. Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale
Fletcher JR, Esau SP, Macintosh BR (2009) Economy of running: beyond the measurement of oxygen uptake. J Appl Physiol 107:1918–1922. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00307.2009
Hartmann A, Knols R, Murer K, de Bruin ED (2009) Reproducibility of an isokinetic strength-testing protocol of the knee and ankle in older adults. Gerontology 55:259–268. doi:10.1159/000172832
Holt KJ, Jeng SF, Rr RR, Hamill J (1995) Energetic cost and stability during human walking at the preferred stride velocity. J Mot Behav 27:164–178. doi:10.1080/00222895.1995.9941708
Judge JO, Davis RB 3rd, Ounpuu S (1996) Step length reductions in advanced age: the role of ankle and hip kinetics. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 51:M303–M312
Karlsen T, Helgerud J, Stoylen A, Lauritsen N, Hoff J (2009) Maximal strength training restores walking mechanical efficiency in heart patients. Int J Sports Med 30:337–342. doi:10.1055/s-0028-1105946
Kulmala JP, Korhonen MT, Kuitunen S, Suominen H, Heinonen A, Mikkola A, Avela J (2014) Which muscles compromise human locomotor performance with age? J R Soc Interface 11:20140858. doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.0858
Larish DD, Martin PE, Mungiole M (1988) Characteristic patterns of gait in the healthy old. Ann N Y Acad Sci 515:18–32
Malatesta D, Simar D, Dauvilliers Y, Candau R, Borrani F, Prefaut C, Caillaud C (2003) Energy cost of walking and gait instability in healthy 65- and 80-yr-olds. J Appl Physiol 95:2248–2256. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01106.200201106.2002
Malatesta D, Simar D, Dauvilliers Y, Candau R, Ben Saad H, Prefaut C, Caillaud C (2004) Aerobic determinants of the decline in preferred walking speed in healthy, active 65- and 80-year-olds. Pflugers Arch 447:915–921. doi:10.1007/s00424-003-1212-y
Manini TM, Clark BC (2012) Dynapenia and aging: an update. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 67:28–40. doi:10.1093/gerona/glr010
Martin PE, Rothstein DE, Larish DD (1992) Effects of age and physical activity status on the speed-aerobic demand relationship of walking. J Appl Physiol 73:200–206
Mian OS, Thom JM, Ardigo LP, Morse CI, Narici MV, Minetti AE (2007) Effect of a 12-month physical conditioning programme on the metabolic cost of walking in healthy older adults. Eur J Appl Physiol 100:499–505. doi:10.1007/s00421-006-0141-9
Milot MH, Nadeau S, Gravel D (2007) Muscular utilization of the plantarflexors, hip flexors and extensors in persons with hemiparesis walking at self-selected and maximal speeds. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 17:184–193
Peper CL, de Dreu MJ, Roerdink M (2015) Attuning one’s steps to visual targets reduces comfortable walking speed in both young and older adults. Gait Posture 41:830–834. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2015.02.016
Peronnet F, Massicotte D (1991) Table of nonprotein respiratory quotient: an update. Can J Sport Sci 16:23–29
Requiao LF, Nadeau S, Milot MH, Gravel D, Bourbonnais D, Gagnon D (2005) Quantification of level of effort at the plantarflexors and hip extensors and flexor muscles in healthy subjects walking at different cadences. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 15:393–405. doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2004.12.004
Saunders PU, Pyne DB, Telford RD, Hawley JA (2004) Factors affecting running economy in trained distance runners. Sports Med 34:465–485
Schrack JA, Simonsick EM, Ferrucci L (2010) The energetic pathway to mobility loss: an emerging new framework for longitudinal studies on aging. J Am Geriatr Soc 58(Suppl 2):S329–S336. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.02913.x
Schrack JA, Simonsick EM, Chaves PH, Ferrucci L (2012) The role of energetic cost in the age-related slowing of gait speed. J Am Geriatr Soc 60:1811–1816. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04153.x
Schrack JA, Zipunnikov V, Simonsick EM, Studenski S, Ferrucci L (2016) Rising energetic cost of walking predicts gait speed decline with aging. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 71:947–953. doi:10.1093/gerona/glw002
Stenroth L et al (2015) Plantarflexor muscle-tendon properties are associated with mobility in healthy older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 70:996–1002. doi:10.1093/gerona/glv011
Studenski S et al (2011) Gait speed and survival in older adults. JAMA 305:50–58. doi:10.1001/jama.2010.1923
Wass E, Taylor NF, Matsas A (2005) Familiarisation to treadmill walking in unimpaired older people. Gait Posture 21:72–79. doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2004.01.003
Wert DM, Brach JS, Perera S, VanSwearingen J (2013) The association between energy cost of walking and physical function in older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 57:198–203. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2013.04.007
Xu F, Rhodes EC (1999) Oxygen uptake kinetics during exercise. Sports Med 27:313–327
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR #209441). LBherer is supported by the Canadian Research Chair Program. NB received a doctoral scholarship from the Quebec Network for Research on Aging (QNRA).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by Jean-Rene Lacour.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berryman, N., Bherer, L., Nadeau, S. et al. Relationships between lower body strength and the energy cost of treadmill walking in a cohort of healthy older adults: a cross-sectional analysis. Eur J Appl Physiol 117, 53–59 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3498-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-016-3498-4