Trunk Muscle Endurance, Strength and Flexibility in Rural Subsistence Farmers and Urban Industrialized Adults in Western Kenya

Objectives: High trunk muscle endurance, strength, and moderate flexibility reportedly help maintain musculoskeletal health, but there is evidence for tradeoffs among these variables as well as sex differences in trunk muscle endurance and strength. To test if these observations extend similarly to both men and women in nonindustrial and industrial environments, we investigated intra-individual associations and group and sex differences in trunk muscle endurance, strength, and flexibility among 74 (35 F, 39 M; age range: 18-61 years) adults from the same Kalenjin-speaking population in western Kenya. We specifically compared men and women from an urban community with professions that do not involve manual labor with rural subsistence farmers, including women who frequently carry heavy loads.

Methods: Trunk muscle endurance, strength, and flexibility were measured with exercise tests and electromyography (EMG).

Results: We found a positive correlation between trunk extensor strength and endurance (R = .271, p ≤ .05) and no associations between strength or endurance and flexibility. Rural women had higher trunk extensor and flexor endurance, EMG-determined longissimus lumborum endurance, and trunk extensor strength than urban women (all p ≤ .05). Rural women had higher trunk extensor and flexor endurance than rural men (both p ≤ .05). Urban women had lower trunk flexor and extensor endurance than urban men (both p ≤ .01).

Conclusions: High levels of physical activity among nonindustrial subsistence farmers, particularly head carrying among women, appear to be associated with high trunk muscle endurance and strength, which may have important benefits for helping maintain musculoskeletal health.