Article

Prolonged bed rest and inactivity is known to cause muscular atrophy with
previous research indicating that muscles involved in joint stabilisation are
more susceptible. The anterior hip muscles are important for hip joint function
and stability but little is known about the effects of prolonged inactivity on
their function. This study investigated the effect of prolonged bed rest on the
size of the anterior hip muscles and their pattern of recovery. The effect of
resistive vibration exercise (RVE) as a countermeasure to muscle atrophy was also
investigated. 12 male participants, randomly assigned to either a control or an
exercise group, underwent 8 weeks of bed rest with 6 months follow-up. Changes in
muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) of the iliacus, psoas, iliopsoas, sartorius and
rectus femoris muscles were measured by magnetic resonance imaging at regular
intervals during bed rest and recovery phases. CSAs of iliopsoas and sartorius
decreased at the hip joint (p<0.05) during bed rest but iliacus, psoas, and
rectus femoris CSAs were unchanged (p>0.05). No significant difference was found
between the two groups for all muscles (all p>0.1), suggesting inefficacy of the
countermeasure in this sample. These findings suggest that prolonged bed rest can
result in the atrophy of specific muscles across the hip joint which may affect its stability and function.

Langue : ANGLAIS