The Influence of Age on the Recovery from Worksite Resistance Exercise in Career Firefighters

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gerstner GR ; Giuliani HK ; Laffan MR ; Mota JA ; Ryan ED ; Smith-Ryan AE ; Trivisonno AJ
• Description:
  Abstract: Resistance exercise is an important strategy to reduce injuries and improve performance in the fire service. However, given the large age range of firefighters, it is important to determine if age influences their recovery following an acute bout of resistance exercise. Purpose: To examine the changes in indirect markers of muscle damage in young and older firefighters following a feasible worksite resistance exercise routine. Methods: Nineteen young (25.5 +/- 3.4 years) and 19 older male career firefighters (50.3 +/- 3.5 years) completed pre-testing, an acute bout of resistance exercise, and post-testing at 24, 48, and 72 h post-exercise at their fire station. Prior to all testing, firefighters completed a work-related fatigue (WRF) questionnaire to account for potential unanticipated differences in previous shift workloads. Testing included perceived muscle soreness, ultrasonography to quantify muscle size and echo intensity (EI) of the vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps brachii (BB), countermovement jump (CMJ) height and velocity, upper body (UB) peak force (PF), lower body (LB) PF and rapid force, and electromyographic (EMG) amplitude of the VL. The resistance training session included 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions of a deadlift, shoulder press, lunge, and upright row exercise at 80% 1-RM. All recovery variables were analyzed using a linear mixed model, controlling for WRF. Results: There was no interaction (age × time) for any of the variables and a similar training volume were completed between groups (P = 0.171). Muscle soreness, CMJ height and velocity, UB PF, LB rapid force and EMG amplitude at later time intervals (100-200 ms), and VL and BB muscle size were altered from baseline (P = 0.044) for 48, 24, 48, 72, and 72 h post-exercise, respectively. Young firefighters exhibited greater CMJ height and velocity, LB PF, LB rapid force (200 ms), and lower VL EI values than the older firefighters (P = 0.047). Conclusions: Age did not influence the recovery from an acute bout of worksite resistance exercise in firefighters. However, UB muscle strength, CMJ performance, and LB rapid force production were reduced 24-72 h post-exercise. Appropriately scheduled and chronic on-duty resistance training may mitigate these decrements. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Aging Fatigue Firefighters Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Author Keywords: Aging Echo Intensity Exercise-induced Muscle Damage Fire Fighters Muscle Function Muscles Muscle Strength Physical Exercise Physical Fitness Physiological Testing Rate Of Force Development Tactical

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• ISSN:
  0531-5565
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  152
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068071
• Citation:
  Exp Gerontol 2021 Sep; 152:111467
• Contact Point Address:
  Eric D. Ryan, Department of Exercise and Sport Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 209 Fetzer Hall, CB #8700, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8700, USA
• Email:
  edryan@email.unc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Experimental Gerontology
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5c8a7f0279dab4360aeca2392c9bd24e5182012da7f4c723112c69986e44d80518cc06f7def9e8531713eb45fa6d54037918a066adbca894a4f19abba50d6177
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/230290/cdc_230290_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.42 MB ]