Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26032216›Full record

Trial reportJournal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions2015

Electrically induced muscle cramps induce hypertrophy of calf muscles in healthy adults.

M Behringer, M Moser, J Montag, M McCourt, D Tenner, J Mester

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact, top 99% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

M BehringerGerman Sport University Cologne, Institute of Training Science and Sport Informatics, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
M MoserGerman Sport University Cologne, Institute of Training Science and Sport Informatics, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
J MontagGerman Sport University Cologne, Institute of Training Science and Sport Informatics, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
M McCourtGerman Sport University Cologne, Institute of Training Science and Sport Informatics, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
D TennerOrthoparc GmbH, The Clinic for Orthopaedics in Cologne, Aachener Straße 1021 B, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
J MesterGerman Sport University Cologne, Institute of Training Science and Sport Informatics, Am Sportpark Müngersdorf 6, 50933 Cologne, Germany.
German Sport University Cologne · DEUniversity Hospital Cologne · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesSkeletal muscles usually cramp at short lengths, where the tension that can be exerted by muscle fibers is low. Since high tension is an important anabolic stimulus, it is questionable if cramps can induce hypertrophy and strength gains. In the present study we investigated if electrically induced cramps (EIMCs) can elicit these adaptations.

methods15 healthy male adults were randomly assigned to an intervention (IG; n=10) and a control group (CG; n=5). The cramp protocol (CP) applied twice a week to one leg of the IG, consisted of 3x6 EIMCs, of 5 s each. Calf muscles of the opposite leg were stimulated equally, but were hindered from cramping by fixating the ankle at 0° plantar flexion (nCP).

resultsAfter six weeks, the cross sectional area of the triceps surae was similarly increased in both the CP (+9.0±3.4%) and the nCP (+6.8±3.7%). By contrast, force of maximal voluntary contractions, measured at 0° and 30° plantar flexion, increased significantly only in nCP (0°: +8.5±8.8%; 30°: 11.7±13.7%).

conclusionThe present data indicate that muscle cramps can induce hypertrophy in calf muscles, though lacking high tension as an important anabolic stimulus.

Indexed as

Electric StimulationAdaptation, PhysiologicalAdultAnkleElectric ImpedanceHumansHypertrophyLegMaleMuscle ContractionMuscle CrampMuscle, SkeletalMuscle Strength

Identifiers

PMID26032216
PMCPMC5133727
OpenAlexW806064191

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-SA
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Registered trials

None linked

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.