ReviewPediatric exercise science2012
Child-adult differences in muscle activation--a review.
Review in Pediatric exercise science, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 6 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
97 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effects of high-intensity interval training on physical fitness in trained adolescent athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Sex Differences in Grip Strength From Birth to Age 16: A Meta-Analysis.European journal of sport science · 2025Pooled it
- Restoring Knee Flexor Strength Symmetry Requires 2 Years After ACL Reconstruction, But Does It Matter for Second ACL Injuries? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2024Pooled it
- Is There a "Window of Opportunity" for Flexibility Development in Youth? A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.Sports medicine - open · 2022Pooled it
- Differences in time to task failure and fatigability between children and young adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2022Pooled it
- Efficacy of School-Based Interventions for Improving Muscular Fitness Outcomes in Adolescent Boys: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- Hormonal and inflammatory responses in prepubertal vs. pubertal male children following an acute free-weight resistance training session.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Trial
- Early-season changes in concentric-only, long and short stretch-shortening cycle jump performance in highly trained youth basketball players.Annals of medicine · 2026Article
- Neuromuscular Activation Strategies of the Lower Limb During Maximal Sprinting in Youth Track and Field Athletes: Age-Related Differences and Implications for Talent Identification.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- A generalisation study in deep learning-based segmentation of lower-limb muscles across different populations.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Estimation of Vertical Ground Reaction Forces During Vertical Jumping in Children Using OpenCap.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Classroom-Integrated Kettlebell Training: Effects on Motor Performance, Attention, and Health in Primary School Children.The Journal of school health · 2026Article
- Small-Sided Games vs. Running-Based High-Intensity Interval Training: An Exploratory Study of the Effects on Physical Performance and Internal Load in Under-11 Male Football Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mechanical Load-Capacity Models for Bone in Youth - Analysis of Risk Signatures.Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions · 2026Article
- Sport-Specific Muscle Architectural Adaptations and Jump Performance in Preadolescent Rhythmic Gymnasts.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Physiological differences in cardiopulmonary exercise testing between children and adults.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Flexibility in Wrestlers, Taekwondoists, and Non-Athletes During the Developmental Ages: The Effects of Sport, Age, and Sex.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2026Article
- Difference in the Motor Unit Firing Behavior During Submaximal Isometric Ramp Contraction Between Healthy Children Aged 6-12 Years and Young Adults.Muscle & nerve · 2026Article
- Isometric muscle strength profile of lower limbs for children and adolescents between 7 and 15 years of age.PeerJ · 2026Article
- Maturity-related acute effects of resistance exercise on muscle architecture and tissue organization of the resting and maximally isometrically contracted gastrocnemius medialis in girls.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Children differ from adults in many muscular performance attributes such as size-normalized strength and power, endurance, fatigability and the recovery from exhaustive exercise, to name just a few. Metabolic attributes, such as glycolytic capacity, substrate utilization, and VO2 kinetics also differ markedly between children and adults. Various factors, such as dimensionality, intramuscular synchronization, agonist-antagonist coactivation, level of volitional activation, or muscle composition, can explain some, but not all of the observed differences. It is hypothesized that, compared with adults, children are substantially less capable of recruiting or fully employing their higher-threshold, type-II motor units. The review presents and evaluates the wealth of information and possible alternative factors in explaining the observations. Although conclusive evidence is still lacking, only this hypothesis of differential motor-unit activation in children and adults, appears capable of accounting for all observed child-adult differences, whether on its own or in conjunction with other factors.
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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.