Effect of age on voluntary force and cross-sectional area of human adductor pollicis muscle.
Muscle weakness accompanies ageing but its causes are still uncertain. We report maximum voluntary force measurements of adductor pollicis muscle, normalized for cross-sectional area, in twenty-three elderly subjects. Normalized force was lower in the elderly compared with a group of fifty-five young adult subjects by 27 +/- 4% (S.E.M.). This shows that atrophy alone is not the cause of the weakness of old age.
Bruce
S A
SA
Department of Medicine for the Elderly, St Helen's Hospital, Hastings, London.
Newton
D
D
Woledge
R C
RC
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009119:Muscle Contraction; D024510:Muscle Development; D009132:Muscles / Q000502:physiology