The temporal relationship of thresholds between muscle activity and ventilation during bicycle ramp exercise in community dwelling elderly males.
Kentaro Sasaki, Tsuyoshi Kimura, Satoshi Kojima and 1 others
PMID 27942152WHAT IT FOUND
In 11 active elderly men, the vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius muscles showed a change in activity before the ventilatory threshold, while the biceps femoris changed near it.
This suggests surface EMG could guide safe cycling intensity without gas analysis.
Key findings
01The EMG threshold for the vastus lateralis and gastrocnemius lateral head occurred significantly earlier than the ventilatory threshold during ramp exercise.
02The EMG threshold for the biceps femoris tended to occur just prior to the ventilatory threshold, though this difference was not statistically significant.
03The rectus femoris did not show a valid EMG threshold, likely because exercise was stopped before the respiratory compensation point due to safety limits.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only 11 participants, all male, all active, and all free of disease and medication, so findings may not apply to the broader, more frail elderly population PTs typically treat. Exercise was stopped before the respiratory compensation point due to safety criteria (blood pressure and heart rate limits), which prevented the detection of an EMG threshold in the rectus femoris. The small sample size and lack of a control group mean this is a preliminary physiological observation rather than clinical evidence of efficacy.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the ethics committee for research of the Kinjo University.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these EMG thresholds are validated for clinical prescription in frail or medicated elderly patients. The participants were healthy, active, unmedicated men, and the study was stopped early for safety, meaning the thresholds found may not represent the true maximal aerobic capacity or safe limits for a typical rehabilitation patient.