ArticleSports medicine - open2022
The Relationship Between Acute Exercise-Induced Changes in Extramuscular Connective Tissue Thickness and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in Healthy Participants: A Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial.
Article in Sports medicine - open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 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
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Rethinking neurophysiology of delayed onset muscle soreness: updated concepts and mechanisms for mitigation across endurance, resistance, and plyometric exercise.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Pooled it
- Scoring and Possession Small-Sided Games Elicit Distinct 48-Hour Muscle Damage and Neuromuscular Responses in Basketball Athletes.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2026Trial
- Comparing the Effects of Collagen Hydrolysate and Dairy Protein on Recovery from Eccentric Exercise: A Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.Nutrients · 2024Trial
- Effects of percussive massage therapy on fascia echo intensity and fascia thickness in firefighters with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2024Trial
- Effects of a Manual Treatment on Lumbar Microcirculation and Tissue Stiffness Following Submaximal Eccentric Trunk Extensor Exercise: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2024Trial
- Deciphering the action mechanism of the sacred plant "Ashvattha" (Ficus religiosa L.) in the treatment of delayed-onset muscle soreness.Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine · 2026Article
- Sciatic denervation differentially remodels skeletal muscle and deep fascia in the lower limb of male mice.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Thoracolumbar fascia thickness and body mass index as predictors of pain sensitivity: a single-blinded experimental hypertonic saline study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Effect of tissue flossing on eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage: A randomized controlled trial.Biology of sport · 2025Article
- MRI T2 mapping and shear wave elastography for identifying main pain generator in delayed-onset muscle soreness: muscle or fascia?Insights into imaging · 2024Article
- Effects of Maximal Eccentric Trunk Extensor Exercise on Lumbar Extramuscular Connective Tissue: A Matched-Pairs Ultrasound Study.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2023Article
- Effects of Maximal Eccentric Exercise on Deep Fascia Stiffness of the Knee Flexors: A Pilot Study using Shear-Wave Elastography.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe extramuscular connective tissue (ECT) has been shown to play a significant role in mechanical force transmission between musculoskeletal structures. Due to this and owing to its tight connection with the underlying muscle, the ECT may be vulnerable to excessive loading. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of eccentric elbow flexor exercise on the morphology of the biceps brachii ECT. In view of the high nociceptive capacity of the ECT, an additional objective was to elucidate the potential relationship between ECT damage and the occurrence of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
methodsEleven healthy participants (♂ = 7; 24 ± 2 years) performed fatiguing dumbbell elbow flexor eccentric exercise (EE) for one arm and concentric exercise (CE) for the other arm in random order and with random arm allocation. Before, immediately after and 24-96 h post-exercise, maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque of the elbow flexors (dynamometer), pressure pain (algometer), palpation pain (100 mm visual analog scale), biceps brachii ECT thickness and ECT/muscle mobility during passive movement (both high-resolution ultrasound) were examined.
resultsPalpation pain, suggestive of DOMS, was greater after EE than CE, and maximal voluntary isometric contraction torque decreased greater after EE than CE (p < .05). Relative to CE, EE increased ECT thickness at 48 (+ 17%), 72 (+ 14%) and 96 (+ 15%) hours post-exercise (p < .05). At 96 h post-EE, the increase in ECT thickness correlated with palpation pain (r = .68; p < .05). ECT mobility was not different between conditions, but compared to CE, muscle displacement increased at 24 (+ 31%), 72 (+ 31%) and 96 (+ 41%) hours post-EE (p < .05).
conclusionCollectively, these results suggest an involvement of the ECT changes in delayed onset muscle soreness.
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.