Effects of Elastic Resistance Training on Physical Performance, Inflammatory Marker and Myokines in Elderly Women

Evidence regarding the relationship between RT and systemic myokine responses, as well as inflammation and physical performance in elderly is limited. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of short-term progressive elastic resistance training on muscular strength and physical performance, as well as the acute and chronic response of myokines and inflammatory markers after resistance exercise in elderly women living in a nursing home. From January to February 2016, we invited 95 older women (≥ 65 years) living in nursing home in the south of Slovenia to participate in our study.

The experimental design consisted of 1) baseline testing; 2) acute elastic resistance exercises with post-exercise and 2h post-exercise biochemical analysis; 3) a 3 months of supervised, progressive elastic resistance training program of moderate intensity; and 4) post-training testing.

The quantification of biomarkers was done using the MAGPIX® system, magnetic bead-based multi-analyte panels and MILLIPLEX® Analyst 5.1 software (MAGPIX®, Merck Millipore) and a human premixed 4-plex kit (R&D System Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA), strictly following the manufacturer's instructions.

Two-way mixed ANOVA model was used to test group × time interaction. Tukey's post hoc test was applied for statistically significant interaction. To test for significant differences between groups relating anthropometric and biochemical variables, we used a Student's t-test. All values are expressed as mean and standard deviation (SD). P values of <0.05 is considered statistically significant. Bonferroni's correction for multiple testing will be performed by multiplying the P value with the number of tests where appropriate. Statistical analyses will be carried out using the SPSS program, version 21 (Chicago, IL).