Muscle-Tendon Mechanics During Locomotor Tasks, Efficacy of Collagen Supplementation for Older Adults

Summary

Older adults are at higher risks of tripping and falling than young adults. These falls may lead to serious injuries (bone fractures, head trauma…) and premature death. They also have an important economic cost for the society. One of the reasons identified for this increased risk of falling is the modification of muscles and tendons functional and architectural parameters with age. It is now well established that muscles of older adults are smaller and weaker, while tendons, that modulate the outcomes of muscle contraction, are less able to resist to tension and transmit forces more slowly than in young age. These changes have functional implications, especially in tasks that require to quickly generate high forces, such as recovering from a trip.

This study aims to determine the links between muscle-tendon characteristics and locomotion, and to understand whether they can be improved by a four-months collagen supplementation.

The investigators will measure the muscular strength and tendon stiffness of lower limb musculotendinous units (MTU) for older adults using isokinetic dynamometry (IKD) and ultrasounds. Participants' abilities to recover from a trip will then be evaluated using a custom built tripping device while walking on a treadmill (participants will wear a whole body harness attached to a rope secured to the ceiling). These performances will be linked to MTU characteristics and compared between both age groups. Finally, the investigators will evaluate the effect of a nutritional supplementation on the mechanical properties of elderly tendons and its potential impacts on their ability to safely recover from a trip, on their lean mass, and on other life quality related markers (joint pain, balance, stair climbing capacities...).

The investigators expect that this study will lead to a new intervention aiming to improve the safety of older adults performing their daily activities using nutritional supplementation, which is known to have better adherence than training interventions.

Conditions

• Tendon Stiffness With Age

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Collagen supplement group

Participants from both group will take their supplement every morning prior to breakfast. Supplementation period will be 4 months. They will perform tendons loading activities 30 minutes after ingestion of the supplement. Tendons loading activities will be heel raises and knee extensions while seated. Participants will be asked to keep the exercise intensity low as it is not a strengthening intervention.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo supplement group

Participants from both group will take their supplement every morning prior to breakfast. Supplementation period will be 4 months. They will perform tendons loading activities 30 minutes after ingestion of the supplement. Tendons loading activities will be heel raises and knee extensions while seated. Participants will be asked to keep the exercise intensity low as it is not a strengthening intervention.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Liverpool John Moores University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Thomas O'Brien, PhD · Liverpool John Moores University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

50 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-01-15

Primary Completion

2021-06-15

Completion

2021-06-15

Countries

• United Kingdom

Study Locations