Resistance Training Important for Aging Muscles and Tendons
April 12, 2011 by Dr. Marc Darrow, M.D.
Filed under Diet and Lifestyle
Reeves ND, Narici MV, Maganaris CN. MYOTENDINOUS PLASTICITY TO AGEING AND RESISTANCE EXERCISE. Experimental Physiology (2006)DOI: 10.1113/expphysiol.2005.032896
Researchers writing the medical journal Experimental Physiology say that resistance training is not only good for preventing age-related loss of muscle but for tendons as well.
From the abstract: “The age-related loss of muscle mass known as sarcopenia is one of the main determinants of frailty in old age. Molecular, cellular, nutritional and hormonal mechanisms are at the basis of sarcopenia and are responsible for a progressive deterioration in skeletal muscle size and function.
Resistance training can however cause substantial gains in muscle mass and strength and provides a protective effect against several of the cellular and molecular changes associated with muscle wasting and weakness.
In old age, not only muscles, but also tendons are highly responsive to training, as an increase in tendon stiffness has been observed after a period of increased loading. Many of the myotendinous factors characterizing ageing can be at least partly reversed by resistance training.”
