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UNTIL 12:01 AM EST
Thursday,
September 25, 2008
Contact: Donna Krupa
Office: (301) 634-7209
Newsroom Phone: 843-681-0794 or 95
Cell: 703-967-2751
dkrupa@the-aps.org
Women Do Not Recover Their
Muscle Strength As Fast As Men After Wearing A Cast
Findings may have implications
for how women are treated for fractures; more rehabilitation may be required
to recover from immobilization or bed rest
  HILTON
HEAD, SC—Women are four times more likely than men to experience a
broken forearm and require a cast (immobilization).
To examine whether the effects of casting were similar between the sexes,
researchers examined immobilized volunteers for a period of three weeks.
They determined that while men were able to regain 99% of their strength
within a week of removing the cast, women’s strength was still 30% lower
when compared to before the cast was applied. These finding may have
implications for the treatment of fractures based on gender lines.
The study is believed to be the first report of
sex-differences in muscle strength restoration following disuse. It was
conducted by Brian C. Clark, Richard L. Hoffman, and David W. Russ of Ohio
University, Athens; and Todd M. Manini of the University of Florida,
Gainesville. The researchers will discuss their study, “Restoration of
Voluntary Muscle Strength Following 3-Weeks of Cast Immobilization Is
Suppressed in Women Compared to Men,” at the American Physiological Society
(APS)
(www.The-APS.org)
conference, The Integrative Biology of Exercise V. The
meeting will be held September 24-27, 2008 in Hilton Head, SC. The journal
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has also accepted a
‘brief report’ of this preliminary data for rapid publication.
The Study
Ten healthy volunteers completed three weeks of forearm
immobilization (5 females, 5 males; 18-29 years of
age). The subjects were fitted with a forearm cast on their
non-dominant arm and each persons wrist muscle strength was determined
weekly during the immobilization phase, and a week after the casts were
removed. The measurements taken prior to the casting were repeated to
detect any gender differences that may have developed over the course of
splinting or recovery.
Results
The research team found:
 men’s
strength had returned to baseline levels one week after the cast was
removed;
women’s
recovery levels were significantly lower, one week after the cast was
removed they still exhibited strength deficits of approximately 30% below
baseline. All the women exhibited a slow recovery of their strength (at
least a 15% reduction relative to baseline); whereas only one of the men
showed a similar deficit.
Conclusions
In explaining possible reasons for the discrepancies,
Dr. Clark suggested that hormones, and the role they play in regulating
muscle mass, may contribute to slower recovery times in women. According to
Dr. Clark, “This finding is preliminary and on a very small sample size, so,
we must caution against over-interpreting our work. However, it certainly
indicates that more work needs to be done to confirm and understand the
reasons for these discrepancies and the extent to which they occur. However,
when our findings are examined in the context of existing work of others,
they suggest that women may require additional, or more intensive,
rehabilitation programs following periods of immobilization or bed rest.”
******
Physiology
is the study of how molecules, cells, tissues and organs function to create
health or disease. The American Physiological Society (APS; www.The-APS.org/press)
has been an integral part of this discovery process since it was established
in 1887.
# # #
NOTE TO EDITORS: The APS Conference, The Integrative Biology of
Exercise V, is being held September 24-27, 2008 in Hilton Head, SC.
Members of the media are invited to attend. To register, or to schedule an
interview with Dr. Clark, please contact Donna Krupa at 301.634.7209
(office), 703.967.2751
(cell) or
DKrupa@the-APS.org. There will be an APS newsroom onsite.
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