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Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on July 13, 2009
Age and Ageing 2009 38(5):564-569; doi:10.1093/ageing/afp122
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Muscle volume compared to cross-sectional area is more appropriate for evaluating muscle strength in young and elderly individuals

Ryota Akagi1,2, Yohei Takai3, Megumi Ohta4, Hiroaki Kanehisa5, Yasuo Kawakami2 and Tetsuo Fukunaga6

1 Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
2 Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, 2-579-15 Mikajima, Tokorozawa-shi, Saitama 359-1192, Japan
3 National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan
4 Faculty of Human Sciences, Kanazawa Seiryo University, 10-1 Ushi, Gosho-machi, Kanazawa-shi, Ishikawa 920-8620, Japan
5 Department of Life Sciences (Sports Sciences), Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan
6 National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, 1 Shiromizu, Kanoya-shi, Kagoshima 891-2311, Japan

Address correspondence to: R. Akagi. Tel: (+81) 4 29476783; Fax: (+81) 4 29477483. Email: carp_crespo_0522{at}ruri.waseda.jp The name of the centre where any work was done: Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University.

Objective: the present study examined which of muscle volume (MV) and cross-sectional area (CSA) is appropriate for evaluating the relation with elbow flexor muscle strength in young and elderly individuals.

Methods: the subjects were 52 young (20–34 year; 30 men and 22 women) and 51 elderly individuals (60–77 year, 19 men and 32 women). The MV and maximal anatomical CSA (ACSA) of elbow flexors were determined by magnetic resonance imaging. The torque developed during maximal voluntary contraction of isometric elbow joint flexion was converted to force by dividing it by the forearm length of each subject.

Results: torque was significantly correlated with MV in young and elderly individuals (r = 0.564–0.926). Similarly, force was also significantly correlated with ACSA in each of them (r = 0.637–0.906). However, the y-intercepts of the regression lines for the ACSA-force relationship in young men and women were significantly higher than zero. There was no age effect on torque per MV, whereas force per ACSA was significantly higher in young adults than in elderly individuals.

Conclusion: for elbow flexors, MV compared to ACSA is appropriate for evaluating the size–strength relationship and the existence of age-related difference in muscle strength per size.

Keywords: maximal isometric contraction, joint torque, muscle force, magnetic resonance imaging, elderly

Received 19 January 2009; accepted in revised form 15 April 2009.


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