Effects of Suspension Training in Older Adults
Condition: Old Age; Atrophy
MeSH terms: Atrophy
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Traditionally, tools that use unstable surfaces have been used to increase the difficulty of
      exercises by stimulating the recruitment of a greater number of motor units. A new method is
      suspension training. It uses the weight of the body and the principles of moments of forces
      to improve the recruitment of motor units. The difficulty that stimulates this recruitment
      depends on the amount of instability caused by the suspension apparatus and the position of
      the body.

      So this type of training in the elderly can be very interesting due to the ease of
      adaptation, since it can be used as a facilitating method or to increase the difficulty.

      It seems that suspension training can have positive effects that will have a direct impact on
      the quality of life of the elderly, due to improvements in different aspects such as gaining
      strength and improving balance, consequently reducing the risk of falling. . It is a good
      alternative to gain strength and improve functional mobility and upper trunk strength in the
      elderly, to other exercises such as elastic bands, since they produce similar effects.

      For all these reasons, the program tries to demonstrate that suspension training can be an
      effective tool to improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of falls in the elderly.
    

Detailed description: 
      This research originates from the curiosity of wanting to prove that exercise in the elderly
      is more than recommended, specifically suspension training.

      Traditionally, tools that use unstable surfaces have been used to increase the difficulty of
      exercises by stimulating the recruitment of a greater number of motor units. A new method is
      suspension training. It uses the weight of the body and the principles of moments of forces
      to improve the recruitment of motor units. The difficulty that stimulates this recruitment
      depends on the amount of instability caused by the suspension apparatus and the position of
      the body.

      So this type of training in the elderly can be very interesting due to the ease of
      adaptation, since it can be used as a facilitating method or to increase the difficulty.

      Additionally, an unstable resistance training situation stresses/taxes the neuromuscular
      system and can promote a greater gain in strength and increase the cross-sectional area. It
      can also increase motor unit recruitment and improve neuromuscular coordination without an
      increase in mechanical load when performing push-ups under unstable conditions. Because TRX
      exercises involve normal resistance, they can potentially improve strength by facilitating
      the use of large and fast-twitch muscle units, increasing muscle coordination and stimulating
      the musculoskeletal system, and increasing the number of muscle fibers. Suspension work
      increases the activation of most muscle groups involved in suspension training (push-ups,
      inverted row, prone bridge and hamstring curl) compared to traditional training.

      Likewise, for the upper extremity it improves significantly as well as training with elastic
      bands. Improves the handgrip. Due to the constant use of suspension elements. For the lower
      extremity, a very high activation of the biecps femoris and semitendinosus (<90% MVIC),
      hamstrings, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and adductor lagus have been observed. In
      relation to balance, it has been observed that suspension training has more notable positive
      effects on it than in traditional training due to the constant adaptation and participation
      of the CORE in the different exercises. On the other hand, regarding the fear of falls, it
      has been observed that, in medium and high intensity programs, this fear decreases as the
      participants feel more confident. In this type of study, positive effects have also been
      shown on sleep quality through the PSQI, positive effects on stride after high intensity and
      positive changes in body composition: higher percentage of water at the cellular level, with
      which better value of PhA and better cellular health. Finally, another possible advantage is
      the ease of installation of the material and its affordable price, since traditional training
      often requires more expensive machines and tools.

      It seems then that suspension training can have positive effects that will have a direct
      impact on the quality of life of the elderly, due to improvements in different aspects such
      as gaining strength and improving balance, consequently reducing the risk of suffering a
      drop. It is a good alternative to gain strength and improve functional mobility and upper
      trunk strength in the elderly, to other exercises such as elastic bands, since they produce
      similar effects.

      For all these reasons, the program tries to demonstrate that suspension training can be an
      effective tool to improve the quality of life and reduce the risk of falls in the elderly.
    

Intervention name(s): Suspension training; Strength training
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): This group will perform training using suspension devices.; This group will perform training using weights and elastic bands.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: Suspension; Older adult; Balance; Strength; Prevention