Elderly oarsmen have larger trunk and thigh muscles and greater strength than age-matched untrained men

Abstract

To evaluate whether regularly performed rowing exercise affects the trunk muscles size and function, and to examine the effect of rowing exercise on thigh muscle size and function in elderly rowers, we compared the cross-sectional area (CSA) and strength of these muscles in elderly male rowers and in age-matched untrained men. Participants were 16 elderly rowing-trained men (ROW age, 67.8 +/- 2.3 years) and 18 elderly untrained men (CON 66.2 +/- 3.0 years). CSA was measured by MRI in the trunk and thigh muscles. Isometric trunk flexion force and leg extension power were measured. ROW had a 20% larger total trunk muscle CSA than CON (P < 0.01); rectus abdominis was 27% larger, psoas major 64% larger, and erector spinae 14% larger in ROW than in CON (P < 0.05-0.001). Isometric trunk flexion force was related to the CSA of the rectus abdominis (r = 0.777, P < 0.001) and psoas major (r = 0.694, P < 0.001), and was 42% larger in ROW than in CON (P < 0.001). However, force adjusted for the CSA of the muscles did not differ significantly between CON and ROW. In ROW, the CSA was 13% larger in the total thigh muscles (P < 0.01), and leg extension power was 43% higher than in CON (P < 0.001). These results suggest that rowing exercise is a favorable training modality for the trunk muscles, especially psoas major and that it improves thigh muscle size and function in elderly men.

Physical Activity, Exercise, Sedentary Behavior and Health

“…Thus, rowing is recognized as a useful resistance exercise for increasing muscle mass. 25.3 ) (Asaka et al 2010 ). In the DXA study, we demonstrated that arm, leg, and trunk lean soft tissue mass were signifi cantly higher in elderly rowers than in elderly untrained controls and bone mineral density was also signifi cantly higher in senior rowers than in senior sedentary controls (Sanada et al 2009 ).…”

“…During rowing exercise, the trunk motion accounts for 50 % of the total rowing power and the leg motion counts for 40 % (Tachibana et al 2007 ). Recently, we examined the body composition of elderly rowers assessed by dualenergy X-ray absorption (DXA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (Asaka et al 2010 ;Sanada et al 2009 ;Yoshiga et al 2002b ). It is critically important for elderly people to prevent trunk and leg muscle wasting.…”

Bone mass and bone metabolic indices in male master rowers

“…Rowing is a type of activity which involves resistance exercises [26] that engage the muscles of the upper and lower limbs and the trunk. Asaka et al [27] also recognised rowing as an exercise that increases skeletal muscle size. In a study performed in elderly oarsmen, the authors demonstrated that rowing is a favourable training modality for benefiting the thigh and trunk muscles, especially for the psoas major.…”

Inter-rater reliability of trunk muscle morphometric analysis

“…These parameters of muscle morphology are also often investigated to identify expected age-related muscle changes (13,14).…”

“…These parameters of muscle morphology are also often investigated to identify expected age-related muscle changes (13,14).Many, though not all, studies analysing spinal muscle CSA and MFI report intra-and/or inter-rater reliability as part of their investigations (4,5,7,15,16), many of which demonstrate strong intra-rater reliability of lumbar erector spinae and multifidus CSA, with an intraclass correlation (ICC) ranging from 0.85 (5, 15) to 0.98 (4) and an inter-rater reliability ranging from 0.77 (7) to 0.85 (5). However, the specific reporting of intra-and/or inter-rater reliability findings is often lacking regarding the description of the methodology of assessor agreement and assessor experience.…”