Resistive vibration exercise reduces lower limb muscle atrophy during 56-day bed-rest.
OBJECTIVE
The current study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a resistive vibration exercise countermeasure during prolonged bed-rest in preventing lower-limb muscle atrophy.


METHODS
20 male subjects underwent 56-days of bed-rest and were assigned to either an inactive control, or a countermeasure group which performed high-load resistive exercises (including squats, heel raises and toe raises) with whole-body vibration. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lower-limbs was performed at two-weekly intervals. Volume of individual muscles was calculated.


RESULTS
Countermeasure exercise reduced atrophy in the triceps surae and the vastii muscles (F>3.0, p<.025). Atrophy of the peroneals, tibialis posterior and toe flexors was less in the countermeasure-subjects, though statistical evidence for this was weak (F<or=2.3, p>or=.071). Atrophy in the hamstring muscles was similar in both groups (F<1.1, p>.38). The adductor longus, sartiorius and rectus femoris muscles showed little loss of muscle volume during bed-rest (F<1.7, p>.15).


CONCLUSIONS
The countermeasure exercise programme was effective in reducing atrophy in the extensors of the knee and ankle but not the hamstrings.
Belavý
D L
DL
Center for Muscle and Bone Research, Charité Campus Benjamin Franklin, Free University and Humboldt-University Berlin, Berlin, Germany. belavy@gmail.com
Miokovic
T
T
Armbrecht
G
G
Rittweger
J
J
Felsenberg
D
D
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001284:Atrophy; D001510:Bed Rest; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D018475:Head-Down Tilt; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018544:Weightlessness Countermeasures; D018474:Weightlessness Simulation