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Age and muscle strength mediate the age-related biomechanical plasticity of gait

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Abstract

Purpose

Old compared with young adults walk with reduced ankle and increased hip mechanical output. We examined the idea that age, leg strength, or both are related to the age-related changes in mechanical output during gait.

Methods

Healthy young (n = 32, age 21.5 years) and old adults (n = 32, age 76.8 years) participated in biomechanical gait analyses at 1.5 m/s and were also measured for maximal leg strength.

Results

Analysis 1 confirmed previous data as old compared with young adults walked with 50 % more hip positive work and 18 % less ankle positive work. Analysis 2 showed that leg strength did not affect gait kinetics in groups of subjects with similar ages. In a weak young and a strong old group, Analysis 3 showed that old adults still walked with 23 % greater hip positive work. The group by joint interaction in Analysis 4 was suggestive of an even greater reliance on hip and less reliance on ankle work in weak compared with strong old adults.

Conclusions

Age and leg strength both contribute to the age-related changes in mechanical output during gait. Exercise prescription, normally targeting the knee extensors, should also involve ankle and hip muscles.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BMI:

Body mass index

SD:

Standard deviation

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Alessio Murgia for his insightful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Human Movement Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Tibor Hortobágyi

  2. Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK

    Tibor Hortobágyi

  3. Department of Kinesiology, East Carolina University, 332b Ward Sports Medicine Building, Greenville, NC, 27858, USA

    Patrick Rider & Paul DeVita

  4. Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Allison H. Gruber

Authors
  1. Tibor Hortobágyi
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  2. Patrick Rider
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  3. Allison H. Gruber
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  4. Paul DeVita
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul DeVita.

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Funding

Supported in part by National Institutes of Health AG024161.

Additional information

Communicated by Fausto Baldissera.

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Hortobágyi, T., Rider, P., Gruber, A.H. et al. Age and muscle strength mediate the age-related biomechanical plasticity of gait. Eur J Appl Physiol 116, 805–814 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3312-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3312-8

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