Conclusion Overall , our findings do not support the presence of a secondary loss of strength following an acute muscle injury , and strongly suggest that strength , on average , recovers steadily over the first 3 days post-injury
Background An immediate loss of strength follows virtually all types of muscle injury but there is debate whether the initial strength loss is maximal or if a secondary loss of strength occurs during the first 3 days post-injury .
Objective The objective of this analysis was to conduct a systematic review and meta- analysis of the research literature to determine if a secondary loss of strength occurs after an injurious initiating event .
Response of males and females to high-force eccentric exercise
It has previously been shown that females incur less muscle damage than males after strenuous exercise , but limited data are available for humans . To determine possible differences between the sexes in humans , the response to high-force eccentric exercise was examined in a large sample of women ( n = 83 ) and men ( n = 82 ) . The participants performed a bout of eccentric exercise of the elbow flexors consisting of 70 maximal repetitions .  Isometric strength , resting elbow angle and muscle soreness were measured before , immediately after ( except soreness ) and then daily for 7 days after exercise . There was a significant loss in strength among both groups ( 69 % for women and 63 % for men ) ( P≪0.01 ) immediately after exercise ; at 168 h post-exercise , women still had a 27 % strength loss and men had a 24 % strength loss . No significant difference in strength loss or recovery rate was found between men and women . Soreness reached peak values 32 - 48 h post-exercise ( P≪0.01 ) , with no significant difference between men and women . Range of motion decreased significantly until 3 days after exercise ( 14.6 ° or 0.255 rad loss for women ; 12.2 ° or 0.213 rad loss for men ) ( P≪0.01 ) ; at 168 h post-exercise , the women and men still showed a loss of 4.8 ° ( 0.084 rad ) and 4.0 ° ( 0.07 rad ) , respectively . There was a significant interaction of sex x time ( P≪0.01 ) ; a post-hoc test indicated that the women experienced a greater loss in range of motion at 72 h than men and this difference was maintained to 168 h post-exercise ( P≪0.01 ) . Thus , our results do not support the contention that women have a lower response to eccentric exercise than men
Conclusion Overall , our findings do not support the presence of a secondary loss of strength following an acute muscle injury , and strongly suggest that strength , on average , recovers steadily over the first 3 days post-injury
Background An immediate loss of strength follows virtually all types of muscle injury but there is debate whether the initial strength loss is maximal or if a secondary loss of strength occurs during the first 3 days post-injury .
Objective The objective of this analysis was to conduct a systematic review and meta- analysis of the research literature to determine if a secondary loss of strength occurs after an injurious initiating event .