Muscles young and old

What happens to our muscles as we age? Claire Concannon finds out why muscles get weaker as we get older, and speaks with a researcher investigating why Olympic athletes live up to three years longer than the general population. Claire also meets a scientist studying what happens to muscles in children with cerebral palsy, seeking clues that could help.

'Use it or lose it!' is the rallying cry to exercise. But what happens to our muscles as we grow and as we age?

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In this episode, Claire Concannon explores these questions.

With World Cerebral Palsy Day fast approaching, she speaks to a researcher looking at muscle development in young patients.

Plus, evidence overseas shows that former Olympic athletes live up to three years longer than the general population. A New Zealand study is investigating how former athletes' lifelong commitment to exercise is good for their bodies.

Cerebral palsy and muscle development

Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of physical disability for children in Aotearoa. It results when impairment in the developing brain either during pregnancy or shortly after birth leads to problems with movement and posture.

Dr Geoffrey Handsfield of the musculoskeletal modelling group at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute wants to understand what is happening in the muscles of children with cerebral palsy across time.

To do this, he is working with Mātai Medical Institute in Tairāwhiti on a longitudinal MRI study of children both with and without cerebral palsy.

He hopes to figure out how muscle development is impeded in those with cerebral palsy and perhaps find some clues for how to help.

Muscle changes as we age

At the other end of the life spectrum, Dr Lara Vlietstra of the School of Physical Education, Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Otago is interested in what happens to our muscles as we age.

There are physiological changes that occur - while we only lose a little bit of muscle mass, the muscle fibres themselves change.

Over time, many of our Type 2, or fast-twitch, muscle fibres (related to power and speed) change to Type 1, or slow-twitch.

On top of this, communication between the nerves and the muscles gets impeded.

Reduced physical activity, along with these physiological changes, can result in loss of function in older adults, and susceptibility to falls.

Lifelong commitment to exercise

These changes are both preventable and treatable, says Lara, with - you guessed it - exercise…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details