Age-Related Susceptibility to Muscle Damage Following Mechanotherapy in Rats Recovering From Disuse Atrophy.

ABSTRACT: The inability to fully recover lost muscle mass following periods of disuse atrophy predisposes older adults to lost independence and poor quality of life. We have previously shown that mechanotherapy at a moderate load (4.5 N) enhances muscle mass recovery following atrophy in adult, but not older adult rats. We propose that elevated transverse stiffness in aged muscle inhibits the growth response to mechanotherapy and hypothesize that a higher load (7.6 N) will overcome this resistance to mechanical stimuli. F344/BN adult and older adult male rats underwent 14 days of hindlimb suspension, followed by 7 days of recovery with (RE + M) or without (RE) mechanotherapy at 7.6 N on gastrocnemius muscle. The 7.6 N load was determined by measuring transverse passive stiffness and linearly scaling

SUBMITTER: Hettinger ZR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8599051 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature