**7. Conclusion**

**Figure 4.** An active lifestyle enhances physical activity and decreases sedentary behaviors (Cardozo et al., unpublished

Valkeinen et al. (2006) examined the EMG activity after a 21 week strength training period in elderly woman with fibromyalgia. The EMG activity of the right vastus lateralis and vastus medialis muscles was recorded during maximal isometric leg extensions, and the results were expressed as the mean integrated EMG activity. There was a large increase in the maximal force and EMG activity of the muscles, indicating that strength training for elderly people can increase neuromuscular functional performance. Hakkinen et al. (2001) examined neuromus‐ cular adaptations in middle-aged and older men and women during a resistance training period of 6 months. The EMG activity during the unilateral extension actions of the knee muscles was recorded from the agonist muscles vastus lateralis and vastus medialis and from the biceps femoris. The EMG signal was collected at 1000Hz, full wave rectified and integrated. The results show that there were increases in the EMG integrated magnitude of the agonist muscle during isometric and concentric leg extensions at maximal voluntary contraction in older women after training. This finding may be related to changes in the muscle activation

data).

122 Electrodiagnosis in New Frontiers of Clinical Research

This chapter presents a global understanding of age-related neuromuscular alterations, such as weakness and fatigue, and the use of EMG parameters in their identification. Neuromus‐ cular adaptations due to aging influence the ability of the elderly to maintain the capacity to perform daily activities and to modulate their postural control. Additionally, physical activity can improve neuromuscular functional ability in older people.
