ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2009
The placebo effect in sports performance: a brief review.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
78 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Meta-analyses of the effects of high-intensity interval training in elite athletes-part I: mean effects on various performance measures.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Pooled it
- Does Co-Supplementation with Beetroot Juice and Other Nutritional Supplements Positively Impact Sports Performance?: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature.PloS one · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of Pre-exercise Hypohydration on Aerobic Exercise Performance, Peak Oxygen Consumption and Oxygen Consumption at Lactate Threshold: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- Effect of Hypohydration on Muscle Endurance, Strength, Anaerobic Power and Capacity and Vertical Jumping Ability: A Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015Pooled it
- Psychological Determinants of Whole-Body Endurance Performance.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015Pooled it
- Quantifying the placebo effect in psychological outcomes of exercise training: a meta-analysis of randomized trials.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2015Pooled it
- Trial
- Associations between expectations and responses to chronic resistance exercise in young adults with and without analogue generalized anxiety disorder.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Cold- and hot-water immersion are not more effective than placebo for the recovery of physical performance and training adaptations in national level soccer players.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- Neuroathletic training in stroke rehabilitation? A single-blind randomized controlled pilot study on the potential of neuroathletic training for balance ability in stroke outpatient rehabilitation.BMC research notes · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Impact of Verbal Suggestions on Finger Flexor Activation and Strength in Healthy Individuals.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2023Trial
- The effects of being told you are in the intervention group on training results: a pilot study.Scientific reports · 2023Trial
- The placebo effect shortens movement time in goal-directed movements.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Placebo effects on the quantity and quality of relaxation training.Journal of health psychology · 2022Trial
- Multiple Cold-Water Immersions Attenuate Muscle Damage but not Alter Systemic Inflammation and Muscle Function Recovery: A Parallel Randomized Controlled Trial.Scientific reports · 2018Trial
- Milk: An Effective Recovery Drink for Female Athletes.Nutrients · 2018Trial
- Trial
- Trial
18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The placebo effect, with its central role in clinical trials, is acknowledged as a factor in sports medicine, although until recently little has been known about the likely magnitude and extent of the effect in any specific research setting. Even less is known about the prevalence of the effect in competitive sport. The present paper reviews 12 intervention studies in sports performance. All examine placebo effects associated with the administration of an inert substance believed by subjects to be an ergogenic aid. Placebo effects of varying magnitudes are reported in studies addressing sports from weightlifting to endurance cycling. Findings suggest that psychological variables such as motivation, expectancy and conditioning, and the interaction of these variables with physiological variables, might be significant factors in driving both positive and negative outcomes. Programmatic research involving the triangulation of data, and investigation of contextual and personality factors in the mediation of placebo responses may help to advance knowledge in this area.
Indexed as
Identifiers
19317519What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.