ArticleEuropean journal of applied physiology2021
Six weeks of localized heat therapy does not affect muscle mass, strength and contractile properties in healthy active humans.
Article in European journal of applied physiology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Expert consensus on passive heating interventions to promote skeletal muscle strength and mass: a delphi study.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Heat treatment combined with hybrid exercises retraining mitigates cellular markers of protein turnover after hindlimb suspension in male mice: A pilot study.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Applying thermal therapy: Comparison of different commercially available heating devices to increase muscle temperature.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Turning up the heat on skeletal muscle adaptations and neuromuscular function: key considerations for passive heating prescription and best practices.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Thermal Modalities Including Hot Baths and Cold Plunges Play a Unique Role in Injury Prevention and Recovery.Arthroscopy, sports medicine, and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Effects of thermal interventions on skeletal muscle adaptations and regeneration: perspectives on epigenetics: a narrative review.European journal of applied physiology · 2025Review
- Repeated passive heat treatment increases muscle tissue capillarization, but does not affect postprandial muscle protein synthesis rates in healthy older adults.The Journal of physiology · 2025Article
- The Effects of Heat Therapy During Immobilization and Rehabilitation on Muscle Atrophy and Strength Loss at Return to Sports in Healthy Humans.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- The combined influences of local heat application and resistance exercise on the acute mRNA response of skeletal muscle.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Skeletal muscle oxidative adaptations following localized heat therapy.European journal of applied physiology · 2023Article
- The independent effects of local heat application on muscle growth program associated mRNA and protein phosphorylation.Journal of thermal biology · 2023Article
- Hot water immersion as a potential substitute for strength training during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeAnimal and human studies have shown that repeated heating may induce skeletal muscle adaptations, increasing muscle strength. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of 6 weeks of localized heating on skeletal muscle strength, volume and contractile properties in healthy humans.
methodsFifteen active participants (8 males/7 females, 35 ± 6 years, 70 ± 14 kg, 173 ± 7 cm, average training of 87 min per week) were subjected to 6 weeks of single-leg heat therapy. Heat pads were applied for 8 h/day, 5 days/week, on one randomly selected calf of each participant, while the contralateral leg acted as control. The heat pads increased muscle temperature by 4.6 ± 1.2 °C (p < 0.001). Every 2 weeks, participants were tested for morphological (MRI), architectural (ultrasound), contractile (electrically evoked twitch), and force (isometric and isokinetic) adaptations.
resultsRepeated localized heating did not affect the cross-sectional area (p = 0.873) or pennation angle (p = 0.345) of the gastrocnemius muscles; did not change the evoked peak twitch amplitude (p = 0.574) or rate of torque development (p = 0.770) of the plantar flexors; and did not change maximal voluntary isometric (p = 0.214) or isokinetic (p = 0.973) plantar flexor torque.
conclusionWhereas previous studies have observed improved skeletal muscle function following whole-body and localized heating in active and immobilized humans, respectively, the current data suggested that localized heating may not be a potent stimulus for muscle adaptations in active humans.
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