{"title":"Comparative study on muscle-tendon stiffness and balance impairment in postmenopausal women: a focus on osteosarcopenia and osteoporosis","authors":"Elham Bagheri Yekta, Giti Torkaman, Leila Aghaghazvini","doi":"10.1007/s40520-024-02888-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background and aims</h3><p>This study set out to examine the stiffness of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and Achilles tendon across postmenopausal women with osteosarcopenia (OS), osteoporosis (OP), and normal bone mineral density. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between muscle-tendon stiffness and postural sway during a curve-tracking task in both sagittal (AP) and frontal (ML) planes.</p><h3>Methods</h3><p>Seventy-three women volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were classified into OS (T-score ≤ − 2.5 and muscle mass below 5.5 kg/m<sup>2</sup>), OP (T-score ≤ − 2.5), and healthy (T-score >-1) groups. The shear wave elastography was used to determine GM and Achilles tendon stiffness during rest and activation. The postural sway was recorded using a force plate during the performance-based curve tracking (CT) task.</p><h3>Results</h3><p>The stiffness of the GM and Achilles tendon was found to be significantly lower in the OS group compared to the OP and healthy groups (<i>P</i> < 0.05). In the CT task, the OS group exhibited a significant decrease in the mean absolute (<i>P</i> = 0.011) and RMS error (<i>P</i> = 0.022) in the ML direction compared to the OP group. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between the ML mean absolute error and both GM and Achilles’s stiffness during rest and activation (<i>P</i> < 0.05).</p><h3>Discussion and conclusion</h3><p>The OS group exhibited the lowest muscle-tendon stiffness. The GM and Achilles stiffness was positively correlated with poor performance-based balance, particularly in the ML direction. This may increase the risk of falls and subsequent hip fractures during simple daily weight- shifting activities in women with osteosarcopenia.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":7720,"journal":{"name":"Aging Clinical and Experimental Research","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40520-024-02888-3.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Aging Clinical and Experimental Research","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40520-024-02888-3","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background and aims
This study set out to examine the stiffness of the gastrocnemius medialis (GM) and Achilles tendon across postmenopausal women with osteosarcopenia (OS), osteoporosis (OP), and normal bone mineral density. Furthermore, we explored the relationship between muscle-tendon stiffness and postural sway during a curve-tracking task in both sagittal (AP) and frontal (ML) planes.
Methods
Seventy-three women volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were classified into OS (T-score ≤ − 2.5 and muscle mass below 5.5 kg/m2), OP (T-score ≤ − 2.5), and healthy (T-score >-1) groups. The shear wave elastography was used to determine GM and Achilles tendon stiffness during rest and activation. The postural sway was recorded using a force plate during the performance-based curve tracking (CT) task.
Results
The stiffness of the GM and Achilles tendon was found to be significantly lower in the OS group compared to the OP and healthy groups (P < 0.05). In the CT task, the OS group exhibited a significant decrease in the mean absolute (P = 0.011) and RMS error (P = 0.022) in the ML direction compared to the OP group. Additionally, a positive correlation was found between the ML mean absolute error and both GM and Achilles’s stiffness during rest and activation (P < 0.05).
Discussion and conclusion
The OS group exhibited the lowest muscle-tendon stiffness. The GM and Achilles stiffness was positively correlated with poor performance-based balance, particularly in the ML direction. This may increase the risk of falls and subsequent hip fractures during simple daily weight- shifting activities in women with osteosarcopenia.
期刊介绍:
Aging clinical and experimental research offers a multidisciplinary forum on the progressing field of gerontology and geriatrics. The areas covered by the journal include: biogerontology, neurosciences, epidemiology, clinical gerontology and geriatric assessment, social, economical and behavioral gerontology. “Aging clinical and experimental research” appears bimonthly and publishes review articles, original papers and case reports.