Reversal of Soleus Muscle Atrophy in Older Adults: A Non-Volitional Exercise Intervention for a Changing Climate

Abstract

The World Health Organization recommends that older adults undertake at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity over the course of each week in order to maintain physical, mental, and social health. This goal turns out to be very difficult for most community dwelling older adults to achieve, due to both actual and perceived barriers. These barriers include personal health limitations, confinement issues, and self-imposed restrictions such as fear of injury. Climate change exacerbates the confinement issues and injury fears among the elderly. To assist older adults in obtaining the benefits of increased physical activity under increasingly challenging climate conditions, we propose a targeted non-volitional intervention which could serve as a complement to volitional physical activity. Exogenous neuro-muscular stimulation of the soleus muscles is a non-invasive intervention capable of significantly increasing cardiac output in sedentary individuals. Long-term daily use has been shown to improve sleep, reduce bone loss, and reverse age-related cognitive decline, all of which are significant health concerns for older adults. These outcomes support the potential benefit of exogenous neuro-muscular stimulation as a complementary form of physical activity which older adults may find convenient to incorporate into their daily life when traditional forms of exercise are difficult to achieve due to barriers to completing traditional physical activities as a result of in-home or in-bed confinement, perceptual risks, or real environmental risks such as those arising from climate change.