Trial reportThe Journal of physiology2011
Mechanisms of cramp contractions: peripheral or central generation?
Trial report in The Journal of physiology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Electrolytes in Muscle Pain Syndromes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Implications for Temporomandibular Disorder.International dental journal · 2026Pooled it
- Muscle cramp susceptibility is associated with muscle-specific modulation of human motoneuron discharge patterns.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Regarding: The Role of Electrolytes in Muscle Pain Syndromes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis With Implications for Temporomandibular Disorder.International dental journal · 2026Article
- Muscle cramps as disorders of impaired termination of contraction: An integrated neurophysiological framework.Physiological reports · 2026Review
- Surface mechanical properties as a potential upstream contributor to exercise-associated muscle cramp susceptibility: a hypothesis linking athlete-surface interaction, neuromuscular fatigue, and altered neuromuscular control.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- STEM education needs for human movement sciences professionals.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Article
- Fundamental Concepts of Bipolar and High-Density Surface EMG Understanding and Teaching for Clinical, Occupational, and Sport Applications: Origin, Detection, and Main Errors.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- An Evidence-Based Review of the Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Prevention of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps.Journal of athletic training · 2022Review
- Effect of oral rehydration solution versus spring water intake during exercise in the heat on muscle cramp susceptibility of young men.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021Article
- H-reflex and M-wave responses after voluntary and electrically evoked muscle cramping.European journal of applied physiology · 2021Article
- Surface EMG in Clinical Assessment and Neurorehabilitation: Barriers Limiting Its Use.Frontiers in neurology · 2020Article
- Muscle Cramping During Exercise: Causes, Solutions, and Questions Remaining.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2019Review
- Water intake after dehydration makes muscles more susceptible to cramp but electrolytes reverse that effect.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2019Article
- Age-related changes in motor unit firing pattern of vastus lateralis muscle during low-moderate contraction.Age (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2016Article
- Treatment of nocturnal leg cramps by blockade of the medial branch of the deep peroneal nerve after lumbar spine surgery.Brain and behavior · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We analysed the cramp threshold (i.e. the minimum frequency of electrical stimulation capable of inducing a cramp) and the behaviour of individual motor units during cramps electrically elicited in the absence (intact condition) and presence (blocked condition) of a peripheral nerve block in eight healthy subjects. The cramp threshold was significantly greater in the blocked than in the intact condition (18 ± 3 Hz vs. 13 ± 3 Hz; P = 0.01). Cramp duration and peak EMG amplitude in the intact condition (55.6 ± 19.2 s and 47.5 ± 24.8 μV, respectively) were significantly greater compared to the blocked condition (2.6 ± 1.3 s and 13.9 ± 8.8 μV; P < 0.01). All motor units identified in the blocked condition (n = 38) had a shorter interval of activity and a greater discharge rate compared to the intact condition (n = 37) (respectively, 1.1 ± 1.0 s vs. 29.5 ± 21.8 s, P < 0.0001; 25.7 ± 11.6 pulses s(-1) vs. 20.0 ± 5.9 pulses s(-1); P < 0.05). The motor unit activity detected during the blocked condition corresponded to spontaneous discharges of the motor nerves, while in the intact condition the motor unit discharge patterns presented the typical characteristics of motor neuron discharges. These results indicate a spinal involvement at the origin of cramps and during their development.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.