Surfski Knowledge Base

Reivers Dustin
04/10/11 #10459

here's a bit of reading for those of us concerned with age and possibly related balance issues. There's something in here about cell death of fast twitch muscles depending on certain gene activity and physical activity. I read until I noticed onset of brain cell death.

Contributed by Kathleen P.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/581619_4

kathleen petereit
04/10/11 #10460

In addition to the death of the fast twitch muscle fibres there is a decline in blood flow to the brain which is asscociated with a decrease in reaction time and affects our balance.

I have noticed in the last year my balance in the surfski has been off and now prefer my more stable S1R vs my faster tippier ski. I also noticed my paddle buddies close to my age are having issues with balance. Then at work two of the ortho surgeons I work with who are long time mtn bikers said the same thing about riding on technically challenging trails. I was quite bothered about this so decided to do some research and started asking other aging athletes about their balance. I still use my tippy ski but only in calm water. Otherwise it's the phat ski for me. From the research I have done it appears women peak / decline faster than men.

It's an interesting topic and I would love to learn more. Maybe we can do a study on balance and the aging surfski paddler.

Kathleen

steven wort
04/10/11 #10461

Did you find a particular age where this starts to accelerate?

kathleen petereit
04/10/11 #10462

OK from what I have researched the ball park numbers for muscle size for an athlete who trains throughout his / her life are:

Males peak at 24 females at 19. Between the ages of 25 to 50 muscle decreases by about 5 - 10%. At the age of 50 - 65 about 15% and 65 - 70 a whopping 25%. Most of this decrease is in the fast twitch muscle fibre. We can stay stronger in the slow twitch which is endurance…explains LG's trips to Eliza and wherever else he goes on those long excursions without tiring. Derek our oldest ski paddler up here is the same, he can paddle forever. I have no problem with distance at a moderate pace.

The fast twitch is what we use in a surfski in rough water. Add the decline in VO2 max which provides blood flow to the brain which means less blood flow to the brain and a decrease in reaction time. So a double whammy with less fast twitch muscle fibre and decreased reaction time from the brain. Most people wouldn't notice it much but I think in a sport where balance is crucial we will find it affects us more. One of my friends in Aus complained the other day he has never dumped so much as this past year.

Working in orthopaedics we notice a lot of our pts having more falls for no particular reason after the age of 50.

Kathleen

Some more info re: aging muscles
Dale McKinnon
04/16/11 #10491

….source research: http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/298/5/E1011.abstract
Whether continuing research isolates insulin/muscle response to fast and slow twitch phenomena… I've haven't yet found it.