ReviewSports health2026
Rehabilitative and Conditioning Exercises That Selectively Activate Individual Lower Extremity Muscles: A Systematic Review.
Review in Sports health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextResistance training - the process of progressively overloading muscle fibers - is fundamental to muscle hypertrophy. People may benefit from intentional exercise prescription targeting selective muscle activation. There is a lack of synthesized literature on exercises targeting specific lower extremity muscles.
objectiveTo compile findings from studies that described exercises emphasizing selective recruitment of lower extremity muscles. DATA SOURCES: A multi-database (MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, SportDiscus) search was performed. STUDY SELECTION: English-language primary research studies relating to selective lower extremity muscle activation in healthy active people were included. Studies based on healthy active people were included to establish normative activation patterns, providing a reference standard applicable to rehabilitation and injury prevention contexts. STUDY
designSystematic review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. DATA EXTRACTION: Information on sample characteristics; muscle and muscle group; exercise and/or movement description; measurement modalities; and exercise intensity, and dosage, was extracted. Study quality appraisal was conducted using the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) scale.
resultsA total of 2561 studies were identified, of which 106 met the inclusion criteria, and 56 studies were considered high-quality evidence based on MINORS quality appraisal scores. A total of 29 lower-quarter muscles (including trunk musculature) were investigated in the included studies. Surface electromyography emerged as the most frequently used modality to measure selective muscle activation. Biceps femoris emerged as the most frequently investigated muscle for selective activation.
conclusionCurrent literature reporting selective activation of individual lower extremity muscles exists, particularly for the biceps femoris, but there remains a paucity of literature exploring exercises that effectively isolate all muscle groups of the lower extremity. Further investigation is necessary to create a comprehensive resource that can be used to guide more personalized, precise, and effective approaches to addressing muscular deficits.
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.