薬理と治療

Abstract

Background and Objective In todayʼs aging societies, extending healthy life expectancy will help to prevent reduction in quality of life. While elderly people are encouraged to have proactive exercise regimes, they are also subject to the risks of falls and broken bones, making pre-exercise warm-up crucial to reduce these risks. Previous studies have confirmed the results of sustainability of the effects of a warm-up in the summertime for elderly people, when conducted 30 minutes after ingesting cocoa. Those results demonstrated significant improvements in flexibility, body temperature, muscle strength, balance function, and inhibited reductions in flexibility and muscle strength. In this study, the authors confirmed the replicability of results of previous studies and verified the significant improvement in flexibility found in the agonist muscles. This study also verified the basis for the functionality of cocoa with the aim of confirming its seasonal effect. Methods A placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover comparative study was conducted in 10 healthy elderly people aged 64-73 years.The trial drink contained 30 mg of cocoa flavanols, while the placebo drink was a cocoa-flavored beverage with a similar taste and the same level of energy as the trial drink. Participants ingested 120 mL of their drink 30 minutes prior to a warm -up, and the effects from their warm-up were assessed using indexes of flexibility, body temperature, muscle strength, and balance function. Results Flexibility: Long seat body anteflexion was found to sustain a significantly high value（P＜0.05）for 30-90 minutes following the warm-up. Flexibility in the posterior femoral and triceps surae muscles was maintained at a significantly high value（P＜0.05）for 30-90 minutes and 60-90 minutes after warm-up, respectively. Body temperature: Sublingual temperature expressed a significantly high value（P＜0.05） 30-90 minutes following the warm-up, while a gentle trend was found for a decrease in body temperature. Furthermore, skin surface temperature of the facies posterior cruris and dorsal region of the foot were found to sustain significantly high values（P＜0.05）30-90 minutes and 60-90 minutes following the warm-up, respectively. Muscle strength: Knee joint extension strength sustained a significantly high value（P＜0.05）30-90 minutes following the warm-up. Balance function: While the transfer of weight forward in plantar pressure distribution sustained significance（P＜0.05）30-90 minutes following warm-up, no successively significant difference was found for center of gravity fluctuation track length. Ingestion of the trial drink was found to achieve a statistically significant improvement（P＜0.05）in comparison to the placebo drink for flexibility, body temperature, muscle strength, and balance function. Conclusion The ingestion of cocoa containing 30 mg cacao flavanols by healthy elderly people before warm-ups was confirmed to significantly improve flexibility, body temperature, muscle strength, and balance function after a warm-up and to sustain its effects.