Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38568258›Full record

SynthesisEuropean journal of applied physiology2024

Is there evidence for the asymmetrical transfer of strength to an untrained limb?

Vickie Wong, Jun Seob Song, Yujiro Yamada, Ryo Kataoka, William B Hammert, Robert W Spitz, Jeremy P Loenneke

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in European journal of applied physiology, 2024. 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
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.

  1. Article
  2. Review
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

7 authors.

Vickie WongDepartment of Sport and Health, Solent University, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0YN, UK.
Jun Seob SongKevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, The University of Mississippi, University, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Yujiro YamadaKevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, The University of Mississippi, University, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Ryo KataokaKevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, The University of Mississippi, University, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA.
William B HammertKevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, The University of Mississippi, University, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA.
Robert W SpitzDepartment of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
Jeremy P LoennekeKevser Ermin Applied Physiology Laboratory, The University of Mississippi, University, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS, 38677, USA. jploenne@olemiss.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5409-9075

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe literature predominantly addresses cross-education of strength in the dominant limb rather than the non-dominant limb, guided by the hypothesis of an asymmetrical transfer of strength from unilateral training protocols. The purpose of the study was to review the literature and determine how much evidence was available to support this claim. A meta-analysis was performed to estimate the magnitude of this hypothesized asymmetrical transfer of strength.

methodsA literature search of all possible records was implemented using Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Scopus from February 2022 to May 2022. Comparison of randomized controlled trials was computed. The change scores and standard deviations of those change scores were extracted for each group. Only three studies met the criteria, from which a total of five effect sizes were extracted and further analyzed.

resultsThe overall effect of resistance training of the dominant limb on strength transfer to the non-dominant limb relative to the effects of resistance training the non-dominant limb on strength transfer to the dominant (non-training) limb was 0.46 (SE 0.42). The analysis from this study resulted in minimal support for the asymmetry hypothesis. Given the small number of studies available, we provide the effect but note that the estimate is unlikely to be stable.

conclusionAlthough it is repeatedly stated that there is an asymmetrical transfer of strength, our results find little support for that claim. This is not to say that it does not exist, but additional research implementing a control group and a direct comparison between limbs is needed to better understand this question.

Indexed as

Muscle StrengthResistance TrainingFunctional LateralityHumansMuscle, SkeletalAsymmetryCrossoverExerciseNeuralStrength

Identifiers

PMID38568258
PMCPMC11322193

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.