Trial reportEuropean journal of applied physiology2009
Differential atrophy of the lower-limb musculature during prolonged bed-rest.
Trial report in European journal of applied physiology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
47 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of Time on Human Muscle Outcomes During Simulated Microgravity Exposure Without Countermeasures-Systematic Review.Frontiers in physiology · 2019Pooled it
- Effects of 8 weeks of bed rest with or without resistance exercise intervention on the volume of the muscle tissue and the adipose tissues of the thigh.Physiological reports · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Comparison of musculoskeletal responses and its variability after long-term spaceflight and prolonged bed rest conditions.NPJ microgravity · 2026Article
- The systemic impact of acute exacerbations of COPD requiring hospitalisation: a narrative review.ERJ open research · 2026Review
- Morphological differences in myofibre size and shape: A comparative study of the soleus, gastrocnemius, triceps brachii and vastus lateralis in humans and mice.Journal of anatomy · 2026Article
- Adjuvant pharmacological strategies for the musculoskeletal system during long-term space missions.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2026Review
- Leg and hip muscles show muscle-specific effects of ageing and sport on muscle volume and fat fraction in male Masters athletes.The Journal of physiology · 2026Article
- Reduced postural stability in men and women aged 55-65 following 14 days of head-down bed rest.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Quantifying Leg Muscle Disuse Atrophy During Bed Rest Using DXA, CT, and MRI.European journal of sport science · 2025Article
- Altered lower extremity muscle activity patterns due to Iliopsoas tightness during single-leg landing.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Towards a common definition of hospital-acquired deconditioning in adults: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2025Review
- Exploring the utility of ultrasound to assess disuse atrophy in different muscles of the lower leg.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2024Article
- NASA SPRINT exercise program efficacy for vastus lateralis and soleus skeletal muscle health during 70 days of simulated microgravity.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2024Article
- Physiology of sedentary behavior.Physiological reviews · 2023Review
- The time course of disuse muscle atrophy of the lower limb in health and disease.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Review
- Capillary rarefaction during bed rest is proportionally less than fibre atrophy and loss of oxidative capacity.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2022Article
- Ultrasonographic changes in quadriceps femoris thickness in women with normal pregnancy and women on bed rest for threatened preterm labor.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Human skeletal muscle size with ultrasound imaging: a comprehensive review.Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Patients with medical, orthopaedic and surgical conditions are often assigned to bed-rest and/or immobilised in orthopaedic devices. Although such conditions lead to muscle atrophy, no studies have yet considered differential atrophy of the lower-limb musculature during inactivity to enable the development of rehabilitative exercise programmes. Bed-rest is a model used to simulate the effects of spaceflight and physical inactivity. Ten male subjects underwent 56-days of bed-rest. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lower-limbs was performed at 2-weekly intervals during bed-rest. Volume of individual muscles of the lower-limb and subsequently, rates of atrophy were calculated. Rates of atrophy differed (F = 7.4, p < 0.0001) between the muscles with the greatest rates of atrophy seen in the medial gastrocnemius, soleus and vastii (p < 0.00000002). The hamstring muscles were also affected (p < 0.00015). Atrophy was less in the ankle dorsiflexors and anteromedial hip muscles (p > 0.081). Differential rates of atrophy were seen in synergistic muscles (e.g. adductor magnus > adductor longus, p = 0.009; medial gastrocnemius > lateral gastrocnemius, p = 0.002; vastii > rectus femoris, p = 0.0002). These results demonstrate that muscle imbalances can occur after extended periods of reduced postural muscle activity, potentially hampering recovery on return to full upright body position. Such deconditioned patients should be prescribed "closed-chain" simulated resistance exercises, which target the lower-limb antigravity extensor muscles which were most affected in bed-rest.
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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.