title: Martial arts training attenuates arterial stiffness in middle aged adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Arterial stiffness increases with age and is related to an increased risk of coronary artery disease. Poor trunk flexibility has been shown to be associated with arterial stiffness in middle-aged subjects. The purpose of our research study was to measure arterial stiffness and flexibility in healthy middle-aged martial artists compared to age and gender matched healthy sedentary controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten martial artists (54.0 ± 2.0 years), who practice Soo Bahk Do (SBD), a Korean martial art, and ten sedentary subjects (54.7 ± 1.8 years) for a total of twenty subjects took part in this cross-sectional study. Arterial stiffness was assessed in all subjects using pulse wave velocity (PWV), a recognized index of arterial stiffness. Flexibility of the trunk and hamstring were also measured. The independent variables were the martial artists and matched sedentary controls. The dependent variables were PWV and flexibility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were significant differences, between the SBD practitioners and sedentary controls, in PWV (P = 0.004), in trunk flexibility (P= 0.002), and in hamstring length (P= 0.003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The middle-aged martial artists were more flexible in their trunk and hamstrings and had less arterial stiffness compared to the healthy sedentary controls. The flexibility component of martial art training or flexibility exercises in general may be considered as a possible intervention to reduce the effects of aging on arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Peter C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Douris
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ingenito
authors.affiliation: Department of Physician Assistant Studies, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Piccirillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Herbst
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Petrizzo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Vincen
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cherian
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCutchan
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: Caitlin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, New York Institute of Technology, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stamatinos
authors.affiliation: New York York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, USA.
authors.forename: Min-Kyung
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Jung
keywords: Compliance; Elasticity; Flexibility; Karate; Sedentary