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Changes in muscle and joint elasticity following long-term strength training in old age

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Abstract

The current investigation was designed (1) to examine the effect of a 48-week strength training on musculotendinous (MT) and musculoarticular (MA) stiffness characteristics in older men and women; and (2) to evaluate the influence of gender on stiffness behaviour in response to such training. The training was performed twice per week and mainly consisted of three series of 10 repetitions of calf-rise at 75% of the 3-repetition maximum. Two methods were used to perform stiffness measurements during plantar flexion: (1) the use of quick-release movements, allowing the calculation of MT stiffness; (2) the application of sinusoidal perturbations to the joint, allowing the calculation of MA stiffness. In each case, stiffness was linearly related to torque, leading to the calculation of a normalized stiffness index (SI) as the slope of this stiffness-torque relationship: SIMT and SIMA, respectively. Results showed a similar decrease in SIMT among older men (−27%, P  < 0.05) and women (−29%, P  < 0.05) following training. A decrease in SIMA was only observed among women (−11%, P  < 0.05). The results suggest that (1) MT stiffness decreases following training in older individuals, counterbalancing the effect of ageing; and (2) older men and women respond differently to the same resistance-training stimulus in terms of MA stiffness. Gender-related differences in MA stiffness response may originate from passive MA elastic structures.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Yves Ballay for technical assistance and the participants in the Better Ageing program. This work was supported by grants from the European Commission (Framework Program V, QLRT–2001–00323).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Equipe INSERM- ERM 207 Motricité-Plasticité, Faculté des Sciences du Sport, Université de Bourgogne, BP 27 877, 21 078, Dijon Cedex, France

    Julien Ochala, Jacques Van Hoecke & Michel Pousson

  2. Département de Génie Biologique, CNRS UMR-6600, Université de Technologie, 60205, Compiegne Cedex, France

    Daniel Lambertz

Authors
  1. Julien Ochala
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  2. Daniel Lambertz
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  3. Jacques Van Hoecke
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  4. Michel Pousson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julien Ochala.

Additional information

This work was part of the Better Ageing Program and was supported by grants from the European Commission (Framework Program V, QLRT-2001-00323).

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Ochala, J., Lambertz, D., Van Hoecke, J. et al. Changes in muscle and joint elasticity following long-term strength training in old age. Eur J Appl Physiol 100, 491–498 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-006-0184-y

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