Muscle Function in Elderly Postoperative Patients

November 15, 2007 updated by: Bispebjerg Hospital

Muscle Function in the Elderly After Hip-Replacement Surgery - Effects of Long Term Disuse and Physical Training

During the last decades there has been an increase in the relative proportion and life expectancy of elderly people in the industrialised countries. Consequently the amount of elderly with diseases and disabilities related to aging has increased. It therefore appears paramount to gain a better understanding of how disuse and immobilisation affects neuromuscular properties in the elderly, as well as to identify training regimes that ensures an effective rehabilitation.The population of interest in the present study was elderly individuals with long term hip-osteoarthritis undergoing a hip-replacement operation. The study was divided in two parts, a cross-sectional study and an intervention study.

The cross-sectional study investigated muscle size, maximal muscle strength, specific force, neural drive and explosive muscle force characteristics in elderly individuals who were affected by unilateral prolonged disuse due to hip-osteoarthritis. The data clearly indicated that the side with hip-osteoarthritis was affected by a marked decrease in muscle mass, maximal muscle strength, neural drive and explosive muscle force characteristics compared to the unaffected side.

The intervention study investigated if elderly patients that undergo hip-replacement surgery could benefit from additional training in the early postoperative phase. The data clearly demonstrated that resistance training was an effective and safe way to increase muscle mass, maximal muscle strength, neuromuscular activity, functional performance and decrease the hospitalisation period compared to regimes of conventional rehabilitation regimen or electrical muscle stimulation. Additionally the intervention study demonstrated that resistance training effectively induced marked increases in explosive muscle force characteristics in elderly subjects compared to rehabilitation regimes using electrical muscle stimulation or conventional rehabilitation. Furthermore, the gains in maximal muscle strength and explosive muscle force characteristics were accompanied by significant increases in EMG amplitudes. Furthermore, the demonstration that explosive muscle force capacity of the neuromuscular system remains trainable in elderly recovering from prolonged limb disuse and major surgery may have important implications for future rehabilitation programs, especially when considering the importance of rapid muscle force capacity on postural balance, maximal walking speed and other tasks of daily life actions.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

36

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Denmark
      • Copenhagen, Denmark, 2400-NV
        • Institute of Sports Medicine, Bispebjerg Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age over 60 years
  • Unilateral primary hip replacement due to hip osteoarthritis in patients

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Cardiopulmonary, neurological or cognitive problems

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: 1
12 weeks of resistance training
Behavioral: Resistance training
12 weeks of resistance training (3/week)
Experimental: 2
12 weeks of neuromuscular electrical stimulation
Behavioral: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the quadriceps muscle
12 weeks of neuromuscular electrical stimulation of the quadriceps muscle (1h/day)
Other: 3
12 weeks of standard rehabilitation
Behavioral: Standard rehabilitation
12 weeks of standard physiotherapy exercises (1h/day)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Bispebjerg Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Charlotte Suetta, MD, PhD, Institute of Sports Medicine copenhagen, Bispebjerg Hospital

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

May 1, 2000

Study Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2003

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 15, 2007

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 15, 2007

First Posted (Estimate)

November 16, 2007

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

November 16, 2007

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 15, 2007

Last Verified

November 1, 2007

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • HKF:01058/00

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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