“Muscle force and functional capacity generally declines with aging" report researchers in the January 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The good news is that the researchers explain that this effect can be reversed, lessened or both.

This particular study of elderly women demonstrated that adding fish oil supplements to a daily strength training routine can increase muscle strength. The 45 women in the study were divided into three groups that did:

1. Strength training for 90 days
2. Strength training for 90 days, combined with 2 grams of fish oil supplements each day
3. Strength training for 90 days, combined with 2 grams of fish oil taken daily for 60 days before training started, and continuing throughout the training period

The researchers tested the women’s muscle strength and functional capacity before and after each training session. One test—rising out of a chair—had much higher results in the fish oil groups compared to the group that did only strength training. There was no difference in the group that started taking the fish oil supplements before training, suggesting that fish oil works with strength training to enhance muscle strength.

“FO [fish oil] may be an attractive supplement for the elderly to maximize their neuromuscular responses to strength training, which is important to life quality,” the researchers conclude.

Declining muscle strength can contribute to functional disability, which the World Health Organization describes as limitations in the ability to do everyday tasks such as walking up and down stairs or getting up from a chair. “It’s important to start some type of consistent strength training routine before we begin to lose muscle mass,” explains sport medicine expert and emergency room physician Susan Ryan, DO. “We can then prevent this natural decline and preserve the quality of our lives as we age.”

For more information about functional disability and ways to prevent it, click here.