Impaired voluntary neuromuscular activation limits muscle power in mobility-limited older adults
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BACKGROUND: Age-related alterations of neuromuscular activation may contribute to deficits in muscle power and mobility function. This study assesses whether impaired activation of the agonist quadriceps and antagonist hamstrings, including amplitude- and velocity-dependent characteristics of activation, may explain differences in leg extension torque and power between healthy middle-aged, healthy older, and mobility-limited older adults. METHODS: Torque, power, and electromyography were recorded during maximal voluntary leg extension trials across a range of velocities on an isokinetic dynamometer. RESULTS: Neuromuscular activation was similar between middle-aged and older healthy groups, with differences in torque and power explained predominantly by muscle size. However, the older mobility-limited group demonstrated marked impairment of torque, power, and agonist muscle activation, with the greatest deficits occurring at the fastest movement velocities. Agonist muscle activation was found to be strongly associated with torque output. CONCLUSIONS: Similar neuromuscular activation between the middle-aged and older healthy groups indicates that impaired voluntary activation is not an obligatory consequence of aging. However, the finding that the mobility-limited group exhibited impaired activation of the agonist quadriceps and concomitant deficits in torque and power output suggests that neuromuscular activation deficits may contribute to compromised mobility function in older adults.
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Bottaro et al. reported that 10 weeks of high-velocity resistance training significantly improved several functional performance measures after modest improvements in leg muscle power in sedentary older males, while traditional resistance training had no effect on the functional parameters assessed.
“Similarly, Bottaroet al.(10)also reported that 10 weeks of high velocity resistance training significantly improved several functional performance measures after modest improvements in leg muscle power in sedentary older males. An intervention of traditional resistance training had no effect of the functional parameters assessed in this study.”
From Skeletal Muscle Power (2012) · cites this paper as [10]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredTwo power training intervention studies have demonstrated that high-velocity resistance training is associated with greater improvements in functional performance compared to conventional strength training.
“Two power training intervention studies have demonstrated that high velocity resistance training is associated with greater improvements in functional performance compared to conventional strength training.”
From Skeletal Muscle Power (2012) · cites this paper as [10]
The Abstract discusses an association between muscle power and physical functioning, but not improvements following training. The Protocol describes single-session muscle testing, not an intervention. Searches for power-training interventions and comparisons with conventional strength training found no passage in our copy reporting the claimed results from two studies. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDynapenia is independently associated with loss of mobility function.
“While muscle mass seems to have little relationship to mobility impairments (Cruz-Jentoft, Baeyens, Bauer, Boirie, Cederholm, Landi, Martin, Michel, Rolland, Schneider, Topinkova, Vandewoude, and Zamboni 2010;McLean, Shardell, Alley, Cawthon, Fragala, Harris, Kenny, Peters, Ferrucci, Guralnik, Kritchevsky, Kiel, Vassileva, Xue, Perera, Studenski, and Dam 2014), dynapenia has been shown to be”
From Successful aging: Advancing the science of physical independence in older adults (2015) · cites this paper as Clark, Patten, Reid, Carabello, Phillips, and Fielding 2010
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Clark, D. J., Patten, C., Reid, K. F., Carabello, R. J., Phillips, E. M., & Fielding, R. A.
- Affiliations
- Tufts University (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2010-02-15
- Volume
- 65A
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 495-502
- ISSN
- 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-535X
- PMC
- PMC2854883
- OpenAlex
- W2138151905
- Cited by
- 106
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 6.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- National Institutes of Health (5p30ag031679-15)
- National Institute on Aging (1 P30 AG031679, AG18844, R01AG018844, 58-1950-7-707, P30AG028740)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Muscle activation and electromyography studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Muscle Physiology and Disorders
- Keywords
- muscle power, aging, quadriceps activation, hamstrings, isokinetic dynamometry, electromyography, movement speed, muscle size, middle-aged adults
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Electromyography, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Muscle Contraction, Range of Motion, Articular, Muscle, Skeletal, Mobility Limitation, Muscle Strength, Muscle Strength Dynamometer
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