About

Rosemary Lindle is an Assistant Clinical Professor and the Director of the ELITE Performance Center at the University of Maryland's School of Public Health. She works primarily with tactical athletes, including public safety personnel, first responders, and military personnel, providing consulting services to various government, corporate, and non-profit agencies such as the United States Secret Service, NAVY, United States Air Force, and others. Dr. Lindle is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology at UMD, where she teaches courses in exercise physiology and occupational health. Her research focuses on human performance, injury prevention, and resilience in sport, health, and occupational athletes. Over the past 30 years, she has been involved in the health and fitness field as an educator, researcher, and consultant, with a particular emphasis on muscle physiology, biomechanics, and genetics. Her current interests include performance, injury prevention, and resilience of tactical athletes, with extensive experience working with first responders, military personnel, and public safety professionals. Dr. Lindle is affiliated with several professional organizations, including the American College of Sports Medicine, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, and the American Council on Exercise.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Physical therapy
• Internal medicine
• Endocrinology
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation

Selected publications

• Effects of acute supine rest on mid‐thigh cross‐sectional area as measured by computed tomography

  Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging · 2007-05-09 · 31 citations

  article

  The loss of hydrostatic pressure that occurs as a person moves from the standing to the supine position causes a fluid redistribution that may confound the measurement of thigh cross-sectional area (CSA) if data are obtained while tissue fluid content is in flux. To determine the effects of changing postural position on thigh tissue CSA, mid-thigh axial scans of 13 older women were obtained at 5, 10 and 15 min of supine rest using computed tomography (CT). Scans were analysed for changes in CSA of subcutaneous fat (SF), low density muscle (LDM) and normal density muscle (NDM). A significant decrease from baseline was found in the CSA of NDM at 15 min [2.3+/-0.8 cm2 (+/-SE), 1.6%, P<0.05], with no change in LDM or SF CSA among any of the time intervals. The results of the current study suggest that potential measurement error can be minimized when baseline and follow-up CT-derived images of mid-thigh CSA are obtained within the first 10 min the subject assumes the supine position and that the CSA of NDM and LDM may be affected differently by supine rest.

  PublisherDOI

• Insulin-like growth factor-2 genotype, fat-free mass, and muscle performance across the adult life span

  Journal of Applied Physiology · 2004-08-07 · 55 citations

  article

  The influence of insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF2) genotype on total body fat-free mass (FFM), muscle strength, and sustained power (SP) was evaluated repeatedly at approximately 2-yr intervals in two cohorts from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Cohort 1 was comprised of 94 men tested for isometric grip strength and SP. Cohort 2 was comprised of 246 men and 239 women tested for total body FFM and isokinetic peak torque. Subjects were retrospectively genotyped for the IGF2 gene's ApaI polymorphism. Differences between genotype groups for total FFM, strength, and SP at first visit, at peak age (35 yr), at age 65, and across the adult age span were analyzed using either two-sample t-tests or mixed-effects models, depending on the specific comparisons made. Isokinetic arm strength at the time of first visit was lower in A/A men than in G/G men (P < 0.05). Compared with G/G women, A/A women had lower total body FFM, lower isokinetic arm and leg strength at the time of first visit, and lower values at age 35 (all P < 0.05) for these muscle phenotypes. Furthermore, this difference between the genotype groups was maintained at age 65 and across the adult age span (P < 0.05). No genotype-associated differences in rates of loss of grip strength or SP were found in cohort 1. These results from cohort 2 support the hypothesis that variation within a gene known to influence developing muscle affects muscle mass and muscle function in later life.

  PublisherDOI

• Isokinetic Leg Muscle Strength in Older Americans and Its Relationship to a Standardized Walk Test: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2000

  Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2004-05-24 · 96 citations

  article

  OBJECTIVES: To describe isokinetic knee extensor muscle strength in older U.S. men and women by age and race/ethnicity and to ascertain its relationship to a standard, timed walking-speed test. SETTING: The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2000. DESIGN: A cross-sectional nationally representative health examination survey. PARTICIPANTS: All surveyed persons aged 50 and older (N=1,499) who performed muscle strength and timed walk examinations in the NHANES mobile examination center. MEASUREMENTS: Concentric peak torque (strength) of the knee extensors at 1.05 rads/ s(-1) velocity and a 6-m walk timed in seconds. RESULTS: Knee extensor strength was inversely associated with age (P<.01), and women had less knee extensor muscle strength than men (P<.01). After adjustment for standing height, no significant difference in muscle strength was found across the three race/ethnicity groups (Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic blacks, and non-Hispanic whites) for men or women. After adjustment for age, race/ethnicity, weight, and height, increasing knee extensor strength was associated with significant increases in meters walked per second (P<.01). CONCLUSION: Knee extensor muscle strength is affected by age and sex but not by race/ethnicity and it is significantly associated with timed walk.

  PublisherDOI

• MUSCULAR STRENGTH ACROSS THE ADULT LIFE SPAN IS INFLUENCED BY INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR-2 (IGF2) GENOTYPE.

  Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2002-05-01

  article

  PURPOSE: To determine if IGF2 genotype is related to muscle strength across the adult age span. METHODS: 523 healthy men and women (20–90 yr) were evaluated repeatedly at approximately 2-year intervals as part of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Since IGF2 is imprinted and only the paternal allele is expressed, only individuals homozygous for either the G allele (G/G; n = 255) or the A allele (A/A; n = 65) were compared in order to study the influence of each allele on arm strength. Arm strength was assessed by the sum of four components along the axis of both forearms and bilateral grip using a hand dynamometer (1960–1985; follow-up = 10.8 ± 6.5 yr) and by measurement of isokinetic peak torque of the elbow flexors and extensors using a Kin-Com isokinetic dynamometer at a velocity of 0.79 rad/sec (1992–2001; follow-up = 4.06 ± 1.78 yr). Mixed effects models were used to analyze if IGF2 genotype was associated with each type of arm strength, and whether an interaction was present between IGF2 genotype and age at baseline measurement (cross-sectional component) and between IGF2 genotype and length of time enrolled in the study (longitudinal component). RESULTS: Though the interaction effects were not significant for either strength measure, a significant (P < 0.05) effect of IGF2 genotype was found for isokinetic arm strength for all observations, such that G/G homozygotes demonstrated 7.0% greater isokinetic strength vs. A/A homozygotes (126.0 ± 2.9 Nm vs. 117.7 ± 1.6 Nm) when adjusting for gender, height, weight and activity level (MET*min/day). No significant effect was found for IGF2 genotype on isometric strength. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the IGF2 allele is associated with greater isokinetic concentric arm strength across the adult age span. Supported by NIA's Intramural Research Program, AG16205 and AG05893

  PublisherDOI

• CNTF genotype is associated with muscular strength and quality in humans across the adult age span

  Journal of Applied Physiology · 2001-04-01 · 90 citations

  article

  The relationship between ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) genotype and muscle strength was examined in 494 healthy men and women across the entire adult age span (20-90 yr). Concentric (Con) and eccentric (Ecc) peak torque were assessed using a Kin-Com isokinetic dynamometer for the knee extensors (KE) and knee flexors (KF) at slow (0.52 rad/s) and faster (3.14 rad/s) velocities. The results were covaried for age, gender, and body mass or fat-free mass (FFM). Individuals heterozygous for the CNTF null (A allele) mutation (G/A) exhibited significantly higher Con peak torque of the KE and KF at 3.14 rad/s than G/G homozygotes when age, gender, and body mass were covaried (P < 0.05). When the dominant leg FFM (estimated muscle mass) was used in place of body mass as a covariate, Con peak torque of the KE at 3.14 rad/s was also significantly greater in the G/A individuals (P < 0.05). In addition, muscle quality of the KE (peak torque at 3.14 rad x s(-1) x leg muscle mass(-1)) was significantly greater in the G/A heterozygotes (P < 0.05). Similar results were seen in a subanalysis of subjects 60 yr and older, as well as in Caucasian subjects. In contrast, A/A homozygotes demonstrated significantly lower Ecc peak torque at 0.52 rad/s for both KE and KF compared with G/G and G/A groups (P < 0.05). No significant relationships were observed at 0.52 rad/s between genotype and Con peak torque. These data indicate that individuals exhibiting the G/A genotype possess significantly greater muscular strength and muscle quality at relatively fast contraction speeds than do G/G individuals. Because of high positive correlations between fast-velocity peak torque and muscular power, these findings suggest that further investigations should address the relationship between CNTF genotype and muscular power.

  PublisherDOI

• Muscle quality. I. Age-associated differences between arm and leg muscle groups

  Journal of Applied Physiology · 1999-01-01 · 597 citations

  article

  To determine the differences between arm and leg muscle quality (MQ) across the adult life span in men and women, concentric (Con) and eccentric (Ecc) peak torque (PT) were measured in 703 subjects (364 men and 339 women, age range 19-93 yr) and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (MM) was determined in the arm and leg in a subgroup of 502 of these subjects (224 men and 278 women). Regression analysis showed that MQ, defined as PT per unit of MM, was significantly higher in the arm ( approximately 30%) than in the leg across age in both genders (P < 0.01). Arm and leg MQ declined at a similar rate with age in men, whereas leg MQ declined approximately 20% more than arm MQ with increasing age in women (P </= 0.01 and P < 0.05 for Con and Ecc PT, respectively). Moreover, the age-associated decrease in arm MQ was steeper in men than in women whether Con or Ecc PT was used (both P < 0.05). Arm MQ as determined by Con PT showed a linear age-related decline in men and women (28 and 20%, respectively, P < 0.001), whereas arm MQ as determined by Ecc PT showed a linear age-related decline in men (25%, P < 0.001) but not in women (not significant). In contrast, both genders exhibited an age-related quadratic decline in leg MQ as determined by Con PT ( approximately 40%) and Ecc PT ( approximately 25%; both P < 0.001), and the rate of decline was similar for men and women. Thus MQ is affected by age and gender, but the magnitude of this effect depends on the muscle group studied and the type of muscle action (Con vs. Ecc) used to assess strength.

  PublisherDOI

• Muscle Quality and Age: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Comparisons

  The Journals of Gerontology Series A · 1999-05-01 · 238 citations

  articleOpen access

  We addressed whether muscle quality (force per unit muscle mass) changes with age in cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses from three groups from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging: (1) Isometric arm strength studied cross-sectionally in 617 subjects with muscle mass estimated by cross-sectional area (CSA) from arm circumference and by 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion (CREAT); (2) longitudinal study for 10 to 25 years in 412 men using the same measures as the first group; and (3) isometric knee extensor strength studied cross-sectionally in 675 subjects; muscle mass estimated by CREAT, CSA from thigh circumference, and leg nonosseous fat free mass (FFM) from dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Muscle quality declined in both arm and leg with age in cross-sectional analyses using CSA and FFM, but not CREAT. No age-associated arm muscle quality declines were observed longitudinally using CREAT or CSA. The relationship between muscle quality and age is dependent on how muscle mass is estimated and on whether subjects are studied cross-sectionally or longitudinally. In addition, CREAT may measure a muscle property not accounted for by CSA or FFM.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• MUSCULAR STRENGTH AND ESTROGEN REPLACEMENT THERAPY: CROSS-SECTIONAL AND LONGITUDINAL PERSPECTIVES

  Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 1998-05-01

  article

  1550 Results of studies on the efficacy of estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) to improve muscular strength are inconclusive. To determine the relationship of strength and ERT usage, post-menopausal women from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) were studied cross-sectionally between 1978-1985 (N=86) and 1992-1997 (N=83). Twenty-seven women were studied longitudinally for an average of 13.3 yrs (range 7.3 - 19.1 yrs). During the first test period, 17 women were pre-menopausal, 2 were peri-menopausal, and 8 were post-menopausal and all were post-menopausal during the second test. Upper body strength was measured during both time periods using different testing procedures. Because of these test differences, strength scores were converted to Z scores using 258 and 294 BLSA women (age 17-92 yrs) for the 1st and 2nd time periods respectively. In the cross-sectional analyses there were no significant differences in strength between those who had ever used ERT(users) and those who had never used ERT (non-users). The change in normalized strength between the first and second strength tests in the longitudinal analysis was significantly less in users than in nonusers of ERT (P < 0.05). All 8 nonusers of ERT declined in strength (7 by more than 1 SD), whereas, 10 out of 19 declined, 5 out of 19 increased, and 4 out of 19 maintained their strength in the ERT users. Therefore, ERT use appears to lessen the decline in muscular strength over time in some postmenopausal women.

  PublisherDOI

• STRENGTH IN RELATION TO FFM IN 353 MEN AND WOMEN AGES 20-93 437

  Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 1997-05-01

  article

  It is unclear if the relationship between muscle strength and mass varies with the muscle group tested, gender, or age. To determine the extent that arm and leg nonosseous fat-free mass (FFM) explains arm and leg strength losses, FFM and peak torque of the elbow and knee flexors and extensors were obtained from 167 men and 186 women between 20 and 93 years of age. Arm and leg FFM were measured on a Lunar DXA and concentric peak torque was measured at.79 rads · sec-1 for the leg on a Kin-Com dynamometer. Significant age - associated declines in strength occurred in all muscle groups (P < 0.01), except the tricep in women. The regressions of strength on FFM were statistically significant for all muscle groups (P < 0.001), r2 ranged from.11 to.42. After correcting for FFM, significant age - related strength declines persisted in the leg of both sexes and in the arm of men (P< 0.01), but not in the arm of women. In muscle groups with an independent age effect, adjusting for FFM resulted in underestimations of strength in younger adults and overestimation of strength in older adults. Thus, regional FFM explains part of the observed loss of strength across the adult life span, but the amount varies with the muscle group tested, gender, and age of the subject.

  PublisherDOI

• Age and gender comparisons of muscle strength in 654 women and men aged 20–93 yr

  Journal of Applied Physiology · 1997-11-01 · 972 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  To assess age and gender differences in muscle strength, isometric, concentric (Con), and eccentric (Ecc) peak torque was measured in the knee extensors at a slow (0.52 rad/s) and fast (3.14 rad/s) velocity in 654 subjects (346 men and 308 women, aged 20-93 yr) from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Regression analysis revealed significant (P < 0.001) age-related reductions in Con and Ecc peak torque for men and women at both velocities, but no differences were observed between the gender groups or velocities. Age explained losses in Con better than Ecc peak torque, accounting for 30% (Con) vs. 19% (Ecc) of the variance in men and 28% (Con) vs. 11% (Ecc) in women. To assess age and gender differences in the ability to store and utilize elastic energy, the stretch-shortening cycle was determined in a subset of subjects (n = 47). The older women (mean age = 70 yr) showed a significantly greater enhancement in the stretch-shortening cycle, compared with men of similar age (P < 0.01) and compared with younger men and women (each P < 0.05). Both men and women showed significant declines in muscle quality for Con peak torque (P < 0.01), but no gender differences were observed. Only the men showed a significant decline in muscle quality (P < 0.001) for Ecc peak torque. Thus both men and women experience age-related losses in isometric, Con, and Ecc knee extensor peak torque; however, age accounted for less of the variance in Ecc peak torque in women, and women tend to better preserve muscle quality with age for Ecc peak torque. In addition, older women have an enhanced capacity to store and utilize elastic energy compared with similarly aged men as well as with younger women and men.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• N. A. Lynch

  Cornell University

  24 shared

• James L. Fozard

  19 shared

• B. F. Hurley

  18 shared

• J. L. Fleg

  15 shared

• E. J. Metter

  University of Tennessee Health Science Center

  13 shared

• Stephen M. Roth

  University of Maryland, College Park

  12 shared

• B. F. Hurley

  University of Maryland, College Park

  11 shared

• E. Jeffrey Metter

  University of Tennessee Health Science Center

  10 shared

Awards & honors

• Teacher of the Year (multiple years)
• ACSM Exercise Physiologist and Clinical Exercise Physiologis…
• ACE Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor Certificat…
• Science of Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Health
• Nutrition and Body Composition