Nutritional Supplement, Eccentric Exercise and Recovery
Condition: Injury; Inflammation
MeSH terms: Inflammation
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 1/Phase 2

Summary: 
      The objectives of this study are to assess the effectiveness of a nutritional supplement on
      muscle functional recovery following induced muscle damage from high intensity resistance
      exercise. The investigators hypothesize that a short-term dietary supplementation will
      significantly improve muscle functional recovery following an intense bout of eccentric
      exercise compared to a placebo.
    

Detailed description: 
      Impaired or incomplete recovery following high intensity exercise can negatively affect
      physical performance and delay functional progression, thereby reducing an athlete's chance
      of performing at his or her peak level. Athletes are constantly seeking ways to speed muscle
      recovery from strenuous exercise and muscle damage. Anabolic steroids are potent stimulators
      of muscle growth and repair and have been used extensively by athletes to hasten structural
      and functional recovery during peak periods of strenuous training. However, anabolic steroids
      are classified as banned substances by all major sports organizing committees that oversee
      and regulate amateur and professional athletics. In addition long-term use of anabolic
      steroids has known side effects that can negatively impact an athlete's health status.
      Dietary supplements are safe and viable alternatives that, if taken in the optimal doses, can
      provide positive effects on muscle growth and repair and ultimately human performance.
      Athletes have used dietary supplements extensively to facilitate tissue growth and repair
      following muscle-damaging events such as high-intensity resistance exercise and participation
      in contact sports. Following intense resistance exercise, an acute inflammatory response
      drives the repair process by synthesizing and releasing chemical mediators locally in the
      injured muscle. Inflammatory mediators help attract growth factors used for protein
      synthesis. The inflammatory response has also been shown to produce high levels of
      oxygen-derived free radicals that if allowed to proceed unabated, can produce further muscle
      damage, thus hindering the repair process. A protein-based dietary supplement, if taken in
      the optimal dosing schedule, may enhance the recovery process by blunting the magnitude of
      the acute inflammatory response and facilitating growth and repair through increased protein
      synthesis in damaged muscle tissue. Understanding the nutritional requirements of athletes
      engaged in high intensity training and competition is necessary to insure adequate recovery
      between exercise bouts. This will improve training and functional gains as well as act as a
      prophylaxis to skeletal muscle injury.

      The objectives of this study are to assess the effectiveness of a nutritional supplement on
      muscle functional recovery following induced muscle damage from high intensity resistance
      exercise. This will be accomplished by evaluating baseline changes over the course of the
      recovery phase on severity of the symptomatic response and functional impairment in
      post-exercise skeletal muscle damage. The biceps brachii muscle will be targeted for this
      study. The investigators have established a safe and effective experimental arm curl model
      for inducing skeletal muscle soreness and dysfunction in human subjects using eccentric
      exercise to the bicep brachii muscle.
    

Intervention name(s): dicreatinol sulfate; placebo sugar pill
Intervention type(s): Dietary Supplement; Drug
Intervention description(s): nutritional supplement
Other intervention name(s): Sham control
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: eccentric exercise; exercise induce muscle damage; isometric strength; range of motion; self report symptoms; mechanical pain threshold