Effects of Aging and Fitness on Hopping Biomechanics

Horacio Sanchez-Trigo (), Jochen Zange, Wolfram Sies, Jonas Böcker, Borja Sañudo and Jörn Rittweger
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Horacio Sanchez-Trigo: Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Seville, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
Jochen Zange: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, 51147 Cologne, Germany
Wolfram Sies: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, 51147 Cologne, Germany
Jonas Böcker: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, 51147 Cologne, Germany
Borja Sañudo: Department of Physical Education and Sports, University of Seville, 41013 Sevilla, Spain
Jörn Rittweger: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, 51147 Cologne, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 20, 1-11

Abstract: Physical exercise promotes healthy aging and is associated with greater functionality and quality of life. Muscle strength and power are established factors in the ability to perform daily tasks and live independently. Stiffness, for mechanical reasons, is another important constituent of running performance and locomotion. This study aims to analyze the impact of age and training status on one-legged hopping biomechanics and to evaluate whether age-related power decline can be reduced with regular physical exercise. Forty-three male subjects were recruited according to their suitability for one of four groups (young athletes, senior athletes, young controls and senior controls) according to their age (young between 21 and 35, vs. older between 59 and 75) and training status (competing athletes vs. non-physically active). The impact of age and training status on one-legged hopping biomechanics were evaluated using the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Significant differences among groups were found for hopping height ( p < 0.05), ground contact time ( p < 0.05), peak ground reaction force ( p < 0.05) and peak power ( p < 0.01). No differences among groups were found in ground-phase vertical displacement and vertical stiffness ( p > 0.05). Young athletes and older non-physically active people achieved the best and worst performance, respectively. Interestingly, there were not any differences found between young non-physically active people and senior athletes, suggesting that chronic training can contribute to partly offset effects that are normally associated with aging.

Keywords: physical fitness; sedentary behavior; aging; biomechanics; stiffness; muscle power (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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