Background

Prehabilitation might attenuate common surgery-induced losses in muscle mass and physical performance. Beneficial effects of physical exercise with protein supplementation have been reported in older adults, but typically after an intervention of at least 12 weeks. The time-window for pre-surgery training is often limited to around 30 days, and it is not known if it is possible to achieve comparable results in such a short time window.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to pilot-test the effectiveness of a controlled four-week combined exercise and protein supplementation program on skeletal muscle-related outcomes in a Dutch older adult population.

Design

This study was a one-armed pilot trial.

Participants

Seventeen older men and women, aged 55-75y, not scheduled for surgery.

Intervention

A 4-week intervention program consisting of a twice-weekly supervised resistance and high-intensity aerobic exercise training of 75 min, combined with daily protein supplementation (2 doses of 15.5 g/day at breakfast and lunch).

Measurement

After two and four weeks, isometric quadriceps maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) was assessed via Biodex and quadriceps cross-sectional area (CSA) via magnetic resonance imaging. Other outcome measures were handgrip strength, chair rise time and maximal aerobic capacity (VO₂-max), as assessed from a submaximal exercise test.

Results

Compliance to the supervised training sessions (99.3%) and the protein supplementation (97%) was very high. The 4-week exercise and protein program led to an increase in quadriceps CSA of 2.3 ± 0.7 cm² (P = 0.008) in the dominant leg and 3.2 ± 0.7 cm² (P < 0.001) in the non-dominant leg. Isometric quadriceps MVC increased in the dominant leg (Δ14 ± 4 Nm, P = 0.001) and in the non-dominant leg (Δ17 ± 5 Nm, P = 0.003). Chair rise test time improved with −3.8 ± 0.5 s (P < 0.0001), and VO₂-max improved with 3.3 ± 1.1 ml/min/kg (P = 0.014). We observed no changes in body weight and handgrip strength.

Conclusion

A 4-week exercise and protein intervention led to improvements in muscle-related outcomes in older adults with low levels of physical activity.

中文翻译：

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一项为期4周的运动和蛋白质锻炼计划可改善老年人的肌肉质量和身体机能-一项初步研究。

背景

康复训练可能会减轻普通手术引起的肌肉质量和身体机能的损失。据报道，在老年人中进行体育锻炼并补充蛋白质会产生有益的影响，但通常要经过至少12周的干预。手术前培训的时间窗口通常被限制在30天左右，并且尚不清楚是否有可能在如此短的时间范围内获得可比的结果。

目标

这项研究的目的是对荷兰老年人口骨骼肌相关结局进行为期四周的受控运动与蛋白质补充联合治疗方案的前瞻性测试。

设计

这项研究是单臂试验。

参加者

未安排手术的17名年龄在55-75岁之间的老年男女。

介入

为期4周的干预计划，包括每周两次的监督抵抗和75分钟的高强度有氧运动训练，以及每日蛋白质补充（早餐和午餐中每天2剂15.5 g）。

测量

两周和四周后，通过Biodex评估等距四头肌最大自发性收缩（MVC），并通过磁共振成像评估四头肌横截面积（CSA）。其他结局指标包括握力，坐椅上升时间和最大有氧运动能力（VO ₂ -max），这是通过次最大运动测试得出的。

结果

对有监督的培训课程的依从性（99.3％）和蛋白质补充（97％）非常高。为期4周的运动和蛋白质锻炼导致 优势腿股四头肌CSA增加2.3±0.7 cm ²（P = 0.008），非优势腿股四头肌CSA增加3.2±0.7 cm ²（P  <0.001）。等距股四头肌MVC在优势支腿（Δ14±4 Nm，P  = 0.001）和非优势支腿（Δ17±5 Nm，P  = 0.003）增加。椅子上升测试时间缩短了-3.8±0.5 s（P  <0.0001），VO ₂ -max缩短了3.3±1.1 ml / min / kg（P  = 0.014）。我们没有观察到体重和握力的变化。

结论

进行为期4周的运动和蛋白质干预可改善运动量较低的老年人的肌肉相关结局。