Over 65% of the time muscles are inactive
Fibion Inc.
Olli Tikkanen defends his doctoral dissertation
Date: October 1, 2014, at 12:00 PM
Location: Seminaarinmäki, L 303, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Mr Olli Tikkanen, M.Sc., defends his doctoral dissertation in Science of Coaching and Fitness titled “Physiological loading during normal daily life and exercise assessed with electromyography “. The opponent is Professor Hans Savelberg (Maastricht University, The Netherlands) and the custos is Professor Taija Juutinen (University of Jyväskylä).
Over 65% of the time muscles are inactive
In his research, Tikkanen found out that during normal daily life, the thigh muscles of the test subjects were inactive over 65 % of the measurement time and the longest continuous inactivity periods lasted on average for 14 min. In other words, only a fraction of muscle’s maximal capacity is used during normal daily life.
His study shows that average muscle activity was only 4 % of maximum which is below the muscle activity level required for walking. Several individuals had average daily muscle activity under 2 % of maximum. Total daily activity could then be achieved by less than 1 hour of stair climbing or 1.5 hours of walking. These individuals could have increased their thigh muscle activity 50 % by standing 3.5 hours more during the day.
Stair ascending can be a maximal effort to the thigh muscles of the elderly
Daily life was shown to be physically more demanding for the elderly due to lower maximum strength levels highlighting the importance of maintaining strength levels with aging. Stair climbing was confirmed as a good alternative to enhance leg muscle strength in older people. The muscle activity patterns reported in the research are significant for understanding muscle activity patterns which are typical in adults and can be used as a reference point for recommendations of avoidance of inactivity. This is important since each activity burst of a muscle initiates the metabolic processes that are important for our health.
Background information
Olli Tikkanen graduated as Bachelor of Sport Sciences in 2004 and Master of Sport Sciences in 2007 from the Department of Biology of Physical Activity at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Throughout his career he has been doing simultaneously scientific research and work in private companies. Tikkanen has been working as a teacher in Sports Institute Pajulahti and later as a Product Manager of physiological measurement systems at Mega Electronics Ltd. In 2014, to commercialise his research findings, he established the health technology company Fibion Inc. with his colleagues Arto Pesola and Tommo Reti. The company is on its way to develop and sell devices and software to measure inactivity and everyday activity. The flagship product is Fibion, targeted to health professionals, who want to offer innovative scientifically proven assessment service to their customers.
More information
Mr Olli Tikkanen
Fibion Inc.
Email Contact
Web: www.fibion.com
