Abstract
Objective. To verify the correlation between muscle mass and neuromuscular function in muscle strength of women practicing and not practicing physical activities. Methods. This is a cross-sectional study conducted with older women (60 and over), physically active (fa) and physically inactive (fi). The muscle strength of the upper limb (handgrip strength - hgs; resisfor test) and lower limb (30 second chair stand test) were evaluated; as well as muscle mass (calf circumference - cc); and neuromuscular activity (semg) of the following muscles: flexor carpi radialis (fcr) and biceps brachii (bb) (upper limb); vastus lateralis (vl), vastus medialis (vm) and tibialis anterior (ta) (lower limb). The student t test and multiple linear regression were used (95%; p <.05). Results. Overall, 59 women were evaluated (71.5 ± 7.1 years), 31 fa and 28 fi. Fa women had significantly better values in dynamic muscular strength tests of the upper (p=.001) and lower limbs (p<.0001). There was no significant difference in muscle mass between groups. After adjustment for covariates, there was relationship between cc and activity of fcr muscle with hgs (r2adj.= 0.64), and cc with the 30 second chair stand test (r2adj.= .39) in fa women. Among fi women, there was significant correlation between activity of fcr muscle and hgs (r2adj.= .35) and cc and neural activity of fcr with resisfor (r2adj.= .66). Conclusion. Physical exercise was related to higher dynamic muscle strength. Differences in the relationship between muscle mass and neuromuscular activity with strength in each test indicate physiological differences for each strength exercise applied.
Highlights
The aging process is associated with structural and functional changes in different systems, which may be explained by genetic factors, multiple morbidities, and non-genetic factors; as nutrition, lifestyle, and physical activity (Kirkwood, 2017).The physical impairment may contribute to the occurrence of physical limitations, dependence and risk of institutionalization.Loss of physical strength is, considered an indicator of biological aging (Clouston et al, 2013)
According to the data presented in table 1, there was no significant difference in muscle mass between PFA and non-practitioners of physical activity (NPFA) elderly (p = 0.242)
As for muscle strength, it was observed that the PFA elderly had significantly higher average values in RESISFOR test (20.7 times) and in the 30-s CST (16.2 times) in relation to NPFA elderly (15.7 and 15, 5 times, respectively)
Summary
The aging process is associated with structural and functional changes in different systems, which may be explained by genetic factors, multiple morbidities, and non-genetic factors; as nutrition, lifestyle, and physical activity (Kirkwood, 2017).The physical impairment may contribute to the occurrence of physical limitations, dependence and risk of institutionalization.Loss of physical strength is, considered an indicator of biological aging (Clouston et al, 2013). The physical impairment may contribute to the occurrence of physical limitations, dependence and risk of institutionalization. Muscle strength has been used to evaluate the physical performance of the elderly because of its relationship with functional capacity and physical independence (Reid et al, 2014). Muscle strength may decrease to a level that starts to restrict the ability to perform everyday activities. A comprehensive follow-up of functional impairment rates and its relationship with disability over time may be a good strategy to find out which are the factors to contribute to a greater or lesser risk of disability and, to to provide support to promote strategies to a healthier aging process (Tomás et al, 2018)
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