Joint Stiffness: Effects of Exercise on Young and Old Men

Chapman, Elizabeth A.; Vries, Herbert A. De; Swezey, Robert L.

doi:10.1093/geronj/27.2.218

Cited by 53 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Although the two aforementioned articles studied flexibility somewhat indirectly, results suggest WBV can be a very promising intervention to maintain or regain flexibility. This is noteworthy considering that flexibility can decline by up to 50% in certain joints by age 70 [12]. Based upon the search of the literature, these are the only two studies that tested a component of flexibility, indicating a vast potential to examine the effects of targeted flexibility exercises using WBV.…”

Section: Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Is whole-body vibration beneficial for seniors?

Lachance

Weir

Kenno

et al. 2012

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act

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Normal aging processes result in losses of functional flexibility and muscular strength, which increase seniors' fall risk and dependence on others. A relatively new intervention to reduce and/or reverse the adverse effects of aging is wholebody vibration (WBV) exercise. The purpose of this article is to review the established effects of WBVexercise exclusively with the aging population. A systematic search utilizing PubMed and Sport Discus databases uncovered journal articles specific to seniors and whole-body vibration. An extensive hand search supplemented the database results to find other relevant articles. Twenty-seven articles were obtained; all articles have been published in the past 8 years, reflecting the recent and growing interest in this area. Researchers have determined that WBV training can reduce fall risk and improve postural control in seniors. It has also been determined that WBV training can be as effective as conventional resistance training to improve seniors' lower body strength. However, little is known about the effect of WBV exercise on flexibility and upper body strength in the aging population. More research is required to establish how effective WBV training is on these specific components and how it may affect seniors' quality of life.

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Section: Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Is whole-body vibration beneficial for seniors?

Lachance

Weir

Kenno

et al. 2012

Eur Rev Aging Phys Act

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“…This has been termed a Ôcontrolled fallÕ (Azar and Lawton 1964;Townsend et al 1978;Zachazewski et al 1993) in which the supporting leg has to maintain adequate torque at extreme joint angles to control the transition of the centre of body mass. Furthermore, McFayden and Winter (1988) showed that greater torque needed to be developed in the lower limbs for stair descent compared to that of level walking, which may be problematic for the elderly because they tend to be weaker and have a smaller joint range of movement than younger subjects (Chapman et al 1972). As the ranges of motion required in stepping down normal household stairs (height $200 mm), or from a bus to kerb, and train to platform ($340 mm) are much larger than those required for walking the elderly may find it particularly difficult to maintain joint dynamic stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knee and ankle range of motion during stepping down in elderly compared to young men

Lark

Buckley

Jones

et al. 2004

European Journal of Applied Physiology

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A major factor limiting mobility in elderly subjects is their difficulty with descending steps but the physiological and biomechanical basis of this problem is not well understood. To address this question we have compared the kinematics of stepping down in six elderly male subjects and six weight- and height-matched younger subjects. Five reflective markers were positioned on the lower limbs and subjects were filmed stepping down from four heights (200, 250, 300, and 335 mm). Maximum angular displacements for the knee and ankle of the supporting limb were expressed as a percentage of each subject's passive range of motion (ROM). Time spent in 'foot flat' during single support was also compared. The results show the elderly subjects sustained dorsiflexion and a 'foot flat' position of the support limb for a significantly ( P<0.05) longer period than the young (approximately 20%). Consequently, elderly subjects utilised a greater percentage of their passive ankle ROM compared to the young (elderly approximately 200%; young approximately 125%). We conclude that the elderly maintained a 'foot flat' position for a longer period possibly to increase the time spent on a larger base of support. These results suggest that exercise prescription in the elderly should include stretching in order to increase the ROM at the ankle joint.

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“…This method has been refined further to include microprocessor-controlled, operator-independent instruments. 6 The use of such mechanical devices has been applied in several clinical studies: at the index MCP joint in rheumatoid arthritis 7 ; at the index MCP joint in young and old men 8 ; at the index MCP joints in young men 9 ; measuring circadian variation in the index MCP joint 10 ; measuring weather effects on stiffness in the MCP joints of the index, middle, and ring fingers 11 ; measuring rheumatoid stiffness in the middle MCP joint 12 ; and evaluating stiffness after burn injuries in unspecified MCP joints. 13 Brand 7 applied torque manually and resultant PIP joint flexion angles were measured individually with a goniometer.…”

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confidence: 99%