Comparison of the effect of three combined training method (aerobic and resistance) with and without vascular occlusion on some indices of hypertrophy in elderly women

Size and strength of skeletal muscles are reduced during aging. It seems research on potential interventions that can reduce the loss of function is very important. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of combined exercise with and without blood flow restriction on serum levels of myostatin, folinolatin and IGF-1 in the elderly women. 40 older women with ranging from 55-70 years were randomly divided into four groups, 1) combined exercises with a blood flow restriction, 2) low intensity exercise without blood flow restriction, 3) combined exercise with high intensity without blood flow restriction and 4) control group. The Training program included resistance and aerobic training in eight weeks (three sessions per week). Serum levels of myostatin, follistatin and IGF-1 were measured before and after the training period. One-way repeated-measures ANOVA was used to assess the effect of training protocols. The significance level was set at P <0.05. There was a significant difference among the groups in serum follistatin and myostatin levels (p = 0.0001). Although there was a significant increase in the pre-post test level of IGF-1, there was no significant change in the level of IGF-1 among the groups (p>0.05). The use of combined exercise with vascular occlusion in elderly women leads to positive effects of anabolic agents in preventing muscle atrophy. It is recommended that combined exercise includes in the training program for elderly women.