Exercise training in older adults, what effects on muscle oxygenation? A systematic review.

Aim To determine the effects of different modality of exercise training programs on muscle oxygenation in older adults. Methods Relevant articles were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct and Scopus, using the keywords: “Aged” AND “Muscle oxygenation” AND (Exercise OR “Exercise therapy” OR “Exercise Movement Techniques” OR Hydrotherapy), without limitation concerning the publication date. To be included in the full analysis, the study had to be a randomized controlled trial in which older adults participants (mean age: 65 years at least) were submitted to an exercise-training program and muscle oxygenation assessment. Results The searches resulted in 1238 articles from which 7 met all the inclusion criteria. The trials involved 370 older adults (68.7 ± 1.7 years), healthy and with peripheral arterial disease. Studies included resistance and endurance exercises as well as walking sessions. Training sessions were 2–6 time per week, lasted 3–24 months and with different training intensity throughout studies. After a long-term resistance training, healthy older adults showed enhanced muscle oxygen extraction capacity, regulation of vessels and vascular endothelium function; endurance training is reported to improve microvascular blood flow and matching of oxygen delivery to oxygen utilization, muscle oxidative capacity and muscle saturation, and walking sessions results in better muscle oxygen availability and muscle oxygen extraction capacity in older adults with peripheral arterial disease. Conclusions This review supports the fact that depending on the clinical status of the participants and the modality, exercise training improves different aspects of the muscle oxygenation in older adults.