Broken bones: Mental exercises preserve muscle strength
All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichDisused muscles are dwindling. Anyone who has had an arm or leg in a cast for a long time will experience this. But the preprogrammed loss of strength can at least be reduced - through mental exercises.
The strength in arms, legs, etc. depends on various factors - but above all on muscle training. But the brain also seems to have an influence. Which, investigated a team led by Brian C. Clark from Ohio University in Athens.
For the experiment, the researchers wrapped a forearm of 29 volunteers in plaster of paris. The rigid bandage reached from just below the elbow to over the fingers and put the arm in question for four weeks. Right-handed people had their left arm in a cast, while left-handed people had their right arm in a cast.
Effective thinking exercise
14 of the participants completed imagination training under supervision five times a week. You should imagine tensing your arm in a cast as tightly as possible.
The method proved to be amazingly effective: Compared to those who had not done any imagination exercises, those who had been mentally trained had lost 50 percent less of their muscle strength at the end of the study - namely 24 percent instead of 45 percent. The ability of the nervous system to activate the muscle to the maximum (so-called voluntary activation) also recovered faster in them.
“This shows that neurological mechanisms, especially those that emanate from the brain, contribute significantly to the loss of strength,” the researchers write. Regular activation of the corresponding brain regions via imagination exercises, on the other hand, could reduce the weakening of the muscles.
Little effort, big effect
The exercise effort was relatively low. Participants were instructed to imagine for five seconds that they were holding the hands of the immobilized arm as tightly as possible against their other hand. The participants should not tense the muscles themselves, but only imagine the tension in their forearms. This was followed by a five-second pause. This was followed by four repetitions of the exercise, followed by a one-minute break. In total, the participants completed 13 such rounds on each of the five weekly training days.
The conclusion of the researchers: "Such imagination exercises could represent a meaningful therapeutic application against the weakening of the muscles." (Cf)
Source: B. C. Clark et al: The power of the mind: the cortex as a critical determinant of muscle strength / weakness. Journal of Neurophysiology, 2014; 112: 3219 DOI: 10.1152 / jn.00386.2014
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