Marian University Researcher Publishes “Frontiers in Aging” for Assessing Muscular Power in Older Adults

Niladri Kumar MahatoA Marian University assistant professor of anatomy, Niladri Kumar Mahato, Ph.D., has published a study titled "Assessing Muscular Power in Older Adults: Evaluating the Predictive Capacity of the 30-Second Chair Rise Test." The study, which included a team from Ohio University, examined whether the number of repetitions in a 30-second chair rise test reliably indicates lower extremity muscle power.

Seventy-five participants, including 30 individuals under 65 and 45 aged 65 and above, performed the test while instrumented with a power analyzer. The findings suggest that while the chair rise test provides limited information about average power per rise in older adults, it is a better indicator of total power exerted and endurance. Additionally, individual physical attributes, such as height and weight, partially influence the relationship between chair rise count and total power, highlighting the importance of considering personal body metrics in muscular performance assessments.