Rehabilitation and Therapy Commons^™

Single Muscle Fibre Contractile Function With Ageing, Gregory J. Grosicki, Carlos S. Zepeda, Christopher W. Sundberg

Physical Therapy Faculty Research and Publications

Ageing is accompanied by decrements in the size and function of skeletal muscle that compromise independence and quality of life in older adults. Developing therapeutic strategies to ameliorate these changes is critical but requires an in-depth mechanistic understanding of the underlying physiology. Over the past 25 years, studies on the contractile mechanics of isolated human muscle fibres have been instrumental in facilitating our understanding of the cellular mechanisms contributing to age-related skeletal muscle dysfunction. The purpose of this review is to characterize the changes that occur in single muscle fibre size and contractile function with ageing and identify key areas …