Recovery from Resistance Exercise in Older Adults: A Systematic Scoping Review

Eleanor Jayne Hayes; Emma Stevenson; Avan Aihie Sayer; Antoneta Granic; Christopher Hurst

doi:10.1186/s40798-023-00597-1

Recovery from Resistance Exercise in Older Adults: A Systematic Scoping Review

Sports Med Open. 2023 Jul 3;9(1):51. doi: 10.1186/s40798-023-00597-1.

Authors

Eleanor Jayne Hayes¹, Emma Stevenson², Avan Aihie Sayer^{1

3}, Antoneta Granic^#^{1

3}, Christopher Hurst^#^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ AGE Research Group, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.
² Faculty of Medical Sciences, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Cookson Building, 1St Floor, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. emma.stevenson@newcastle.ac.uk.
³ NIHR Newcastle Biomedical Research Centre, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Resistance exercise is recommended for maintaining muscle mass and strength in older adults. However, little is known about exercise-induced muscle damage and recovery from resistance exercise in older adults. This may have implications for exercise prescription. This scoping review aimed to identify and provide a broad overview of the available literature, examine how this research has been conducted, and identify current knowledge gaps relating to exercise-induced muscle damage and recovery from resistance exercise in older adults.

Methods: Studies were included if they included older adults aged 65 years and over, and reported any markers of exercise-induced muscle damage after performing a bout of resistance exercise. The following electronic databases were searched using a combination of MeSH terms and free text: MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science. Additionally, reference lists of identified articles were screened for eligible studies. Data were extracted from eligible studies using a standardised form. Studies were collated and are reported by emergent theme or outcomes.

Results: A total of 10,976 possible articles were identified and 27 original research articles were included. Findings are reported by theme; sex differences in recovery from resistance exercise, symptoms of exercise-induced muscle damage, and biological markers of muscle damage.

Conclusions: Despite the volume of available data, there is considerable variability in study protocols and inconsistency in findings reported. Across all measures of exercise-induced muscle damage, data in women are lacking when compared to males, and rectifying this discrepancy should be a focus of future studies. Current available data make it challenging to provide clear recommendations to those prescribing resistance exercise for older people.

Keywords: Delayed onset muscle soreness; Exercise programming; Exercise recovery; Muscle damage; Muscle soreness; Muscle strength; Older adults; Resistance exercise; Scoping review; Strength training.

Publication types

Systematic Review