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Association of walking speed with sagittal spinal alignment, muscle thickness, and echo intensity of lumbar back muscles in middle-aged and elderly women

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Abstract

Background

Age-related change of spinal alignment in the standing position is known to be associated with decreases in walking speed, and alteration in muscle quantity (i.e., muscle mass) and muscle quality (i.e., increases in the amount of intramuscular non-contractile tissue) of lumbar back muscles. Additionally, the lumbar lordosis angle in the standing position is associated with walking speed, independent of lower-extremity muscle strength, in elderly individuals. However, it is unclear whether spinal alignment in the standing position is associated with walking speed in the elderly, independent of trunk muscle quantity and quality. The present study investigated the association of usual and maximum walking speed with age, sagittal spinal alignment in the standing position, muscle quantity measured as thickness, and quality measured as echo intensity of lumbar muscles in 35 middle-aged and elderly women.

Methods

Sagittal spinal alignment in the standing position (thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and sacral anterior inclination angle) using a spinal mouse, and muscle thickness and echo intensity of the lumbar muscles (erector spinae, psoas major, and lumbar multifidus) using an ultrasound imaging device were also measured.

Results

Stepwise regression analysis showed that only age was a significant determinant of usual walking speed. The thickness of the lumbar erector spinae muscle was a significant, independent determinant of maximal walking speed.

Conclusions

The results of this study suggest that a decrease in maximal walking speed is associated with the decrease in lumbar erector spinae muscles thickness rather than spinal alignment in the standing position in middle-aged and elderly women.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Saori Shibuta, Natsuki Yamakami, and Kosuke Saida (Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University) for their practical and technical assistance. The authors also thank all of the individuals who participated in the present study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Therapy, Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, 53 Kawahara-cho, Shogoin, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8507, Japan

    Mitsuhiro Masaki, Tome Ikezoe, Satoko Ibuki & Noriaki Ichihashi

  2. Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Kobe Gakuin University, Hyogo, 518 Arise, Ikawadani-cho, Nishi-ku, Kobe, 651-2180, Japan

    Yoshihiro Fukumoto

  3. Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Yamato University, Osaka, 2-5-1 Katayama-cho, Suita, 564-0082, Japan

    Seigo Minami

  4. Department of Rehabilitation, Kyoto Yawata Hospital, Kyoto, 61 Kawaguchi-Bessho, Yawata, 614-8114, Japan

    Junichi Aoyama

  5. Faculty of Health and Medical Science, Kyoto Gakuen University, Kyoto, 1-1 Nanjyo-Otani, Sogabe-cho, Kameoka, 621-8555, Japan

    Misaka Kimura

Authors
  1. Mitsuhiro Masaki
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  2. Tome Ikezoe
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  3. Yoshihiro Fukumoto
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  4. Seigo Minami
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  5. Junichi Aoyama
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  6. Satoko Ibuki
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  7. Misaka Kimura
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  8. Noriaki Ichihashi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mitsuhiro Masaki.

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Funding

No funding sources were disclosed for the study.

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Masaki, M., Ikezoe, T., Fukumoto, Y. et al. Association of walking speed with sagittal spinal alignment, muscle thickness, and echo intensity of lumbar back muscles in middle-aged and elderly women. Aging Clin Exp Res 28, 429–434 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0442-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40520-015-0442-0

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