Researchers Seeking Volunteers for a Study on Muscle Fatigue

The Study of Aging, Gait and Energetics (SAGE) is a research project being conducted by the musculoskeletal and orthopedic biomechanics lab group at UMass Amherst. 

The goal of this project is to determine how muscle fatigue may compound age- or impairment-related muscle weakness to alter the mechanics of walking and to understand the impacts on energy consumption and fatigability in walking. This study is funded by the National Institute of Health.

Fatigability is defined as an experience of high perceived exertion and deteriorating performance in response to a standardized bout of activity and is an early predictor of future mobility disability in older individuals. 

Researchers hypothesize that muscle fatigue contributes to fatigability by exacerbating age-related changes in normal walking patterns which will require the body to use larger less efficient muscles for movement. The outcomes of this research will be a new, integrative and mechanistic model linking muscle fatigue to gait function in older adults that can be used to develop evidence-based interventions to address fatigability in aging.

Researchers are currently seeking volunteers aged 30 to 40 years or 70 to 80 years. More participants are needed in the 30- to 40-year-old category. Those interested should reach out to researchers at Studyage@umass.edu or fill out a pre-screening eligibility form that can quickly determine a volunteer's initial eligibility before speaking with researchers over the phone.